It’s difficult to say how the ongoing Afghanistan series is helping Indian cricket. Wins don’t matter against such an opposition team.
Personal milestones don’t matter either. But what makes it worse is that it’s being held at a time when it’s super hot in India. What happens if somebody gets injured and is out for months? Forget months, what if somebody misses the upcoming important white-ball series against England starting next month?
In the second ODI at Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium, there were many injury concerns. Darwish Rasooli of Afghanistan hurt himself while fielding, and although he limped in to bat later, he couldn’t last long and had to leave the field for the second time in the game. In such extreme heat, the body constantly loses water through sweat, and a dehydrated body is more prone to picking up injuries than a fully hydrated body. It was Rasooli’s first ODI game, and how terribly things panned out for him. Spare a thought for him.
India captain Shubman Gill played a mammoth innings of 154 off 110 balls, but there was a time when he also started cramping up for the same reason. He got back on his feet after receiving some treatment, but he wasn’t the same player thereafter. He struggled to run and to connect his shots properly, and eventually got out playing a bizarre stroke. He didn’t come out to field, and vice captain Shreyas Iyer stepped into the breach.
Ishan Kishan, another centurion in the match, also suffered towards the end of his innings. Now there is one more game to go in Chennai on Saturday, another hot venue. At this time of year, a very large part of India is unbearable in terms of heat. The Test venue earlier against Afghanistan – Dharamsala – is ideal at present, but then it can’t host one game after the other. In India, Dharamsala is the only proper, international-quality stadium in cooler climes. This whole tour should have happened at another time. The BCCI hosted in June because for the rest of the year, they would have much more important teams to deal with. That makes sense, but the moment you start thinking about the welfare of players, it doesn’t anymore. Nothing is more important than the well-being of players.
Non-stop cricket since February!
India have been playing non-stop cricket since February. They played the T20 World Cup, which they won. It must have been an exhausting experience even though they won in better weather conditions. Then came the ultimate grind by the name of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two long months in intense heat. Less than a week after it got over, the one-off Test got underway. A few days later, India A kicked off their 50-overs Tri-series campaign in Sri Lanka. Then the ODI series came along. Most of the Indian players in action for the last few days played in the IPL. There is no way they can’t be tired.
So, one can see there is too much cricket for Indian players. It’s not good. The BCCI should never be in a situation where they have to organise these tours. There are two pitfalls in particular. First, there can be injuries to players, to very important players. Plus, too much cricket can make fans impervious. Fans need a break, too. Imagine having to catch up with cricket amid the FIFA World Cup. On so many levels, the BCCI has got it wrong.