India vs Afghanistan: Focus on gruelling schedule, workload amidst return of Bumrah, Washington and Nitish from injury

CHENNAI: Less than 72 hours after spending five days in the gruelling heat and humidity of Chennai during the Duleep Trophy final, at least two among Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi and Tilak Varma will take the field against Afghanistan in the first T20I on Sunday.

This is not news. It was well known as soon as they expressed their keenness to play in the final. However, the significance of it lies in the fact that this marks the beginning of a long and gruelling two months for Indian cricketers across formats.

After three 'away' T20Is against Afghanistan in New Delhi, the Shreyas Iyer-led team will travel to Japan to play in a lone T20I with a four-day gap. Then, they will remain there for the Asian Games presumably till the final on October 3. Seventy two hours after the scheduled final, India will start their five T20Is against West Indies in Lucknow on October 6. That series will go on till October 17 before an Indian team take the field in Christchurch on October 22 for five T20Is against New Zealand which will end on November 1. And this is just the T20I team.

Rohit playing well; focussing on scheduling, FTP in next cycle: Saikia

While the Asian Games is still on, India will play three ODIs against West Indies, an A team will play Australia A in two red-ball and three one-dayers. Parallel to the T20Is against Black Caps, an A team will play three four-day matches in New Zealand. After which India will play five ODIs and two Tests in the country. To put into context, starting from Sunday till December 1 (80 days), an Indian team is likely to be on the field for a maximum of 35 days across 16 cities and three countries. It is just the reality of things at the moment in Indian cricket.

While the BCCI and India have taken pride in the vast player pool, resources at their disposal and their ability to field multiple teams at the same time, the schedule, and the recurring injuries have become a cause for concern. India do have enough players to field three different teams in each format. However, there are a few who overlap at the moment. It is not hard to see how the cramped schedule has had a cascading effect on some of them. Nitish K Reddy, Washington Sundar, Shreyas himself, Harshit Rana, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah... They all play at least two formats and the toll is visible. Some of them have had recurring injuries too. Even Kishan, who had a niggle in New Delhi, was fatigued, said Shreyas, but reiterated he will be fit for Sunday.

The T20I skipper, whilst talking about injuries, put it down to the schedule on Saturday. "We need to understand, first of all, the amount of matches a player is playing continuously, rigorously. He's prone to get injured some or the other way. Because the intensity is pretty high," he explained in New Delhi. "We also need to understand that not every player thinks of getting injured deliberately. It is because they are putting efforts for the team. If that effort turns out to be on the negative side, you can't control it," he added.

Growing injury concerns raise alarm bells in Indian cricket

Asked if there is a plan to manage those, like Bumrah, Washington and Nitish, coming back from injury, Shreyas sidestepped. "Looking at every individual who has come out of an injury, they are looking fit and fine. They are in great shape. We had two high-intensity sessions yesterday (Friday) and the day before yesterday (Thursday). I honestly can't tell you how we are going to manage it. But all I can assure you is that the team is looking promising. We are in great preparation. I want to be optimistic in terms of how we approach the game," the skipper said.

Though Shreyas did not comment on Saturday, the issue of scheduling was discussed at length during the recent BCCI review meeting in Mumbai. After the meeting, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told reporters that the BCCI is looking to work out a better Future Tours Programme going forward. "If you look in England, we had 15 players and out of that, 3-4 players got injured during the match but we have to think about how they have played two months of IPL prior to that. All this takes a toll on the health of the players also. To avoid those kinds of situations and what best we can do under the present windows and present FTPs, we are trying to find some ways out," Saikia had explained.

While the BCCI looks to sort out the scheduling in the next cycle, for the next six months, the onus of managing the workload of the players will remain on the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, and the team management. From Sunday, till the end of this season, their role will be crucial in ensuring that their top players are not overworked. Because, the last thing India would want in an ODI World Cup year (2027) is to be without their best players for the marquee event.

Afghanistan vs India, New Delhi
Live on Sony Sports Network and FanCode, 8PM