Former India captain and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar has criticised the scheduling of India's tour of England, calling it absurd.
India fly to England to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand from 18 to 22 June and play the first Test against England on 4 August.
In an interview given to News18.com, Vengsarkar pointed out the one and a half month gap between the two games, asking what exactly is Team India planning to do in this long gap, with no practice games announced so far.
He said, "What are they going to do in those one-and-a-half months? I am really surprised with the scheduling. What kind of a tour is being organised? How can you have a Test match now and you don’t have any cricket for one-and-a-half months, and then you play the Test series. Even if Pakistan and Sri Lanka visit England for limited-overs series in July, why can’t they have the England-India Tests immediately after the WTC final? Is the team coming back after the WTC final and then going back? What are they going to do for those one-and-a-half months?
"If there is no cricket for one-and-a-half months, it is strange. If India is there to play Test matches, they should continue playing Tests rather than have a gap. Why have Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing T20Is and ODIs in between? That is absurd."
Vengsarkar, who has four Test centuries in England, also advised Indians to get acclimatise to conditions quickly for better results.
"It has got to do with getting acclimatised to the conditions. Spending as much time as possible in the middle is vital. In the olden days, we had the advantage as we used to have more county games before the Test matches and in between Tests. That definitely helped to get used to the conditions."
He added that bio-bubble will be a huge challenge for Team India, who are going to be playing consistent cricket from mid-June till at least T20 World Cup later this year.
The former India captain said, "It is a very big season for the Indian players. It will be tough to stay in the bio-bubble for such a long time. It will definitely take a toll on the players’ mental health because they have to stay in the bio-bubble and also perform at their best all the time.
"...They may have got used to the bio-bubble but it may not be the best for everyone concerned. It is tough, being in a bio-bubble and performing to your best."
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