Year-Long Schedule Planned For Indian Cricketers (4 Oct 1996)

4 October 1996

Year-long schedule being planned for Indian cricket players

NEW DELHI, Thursday - Indian cricket officials are planning a non-stop international circuit on the lines of golf and tennis to keep players busy all-year round.

The circuit, expected to start early next year, will involve international matches almost every month in India or abroad, a senior official said on Thursday.

"If golfers and tennis stars can play all through the year, so can our cricketers,`` former Indian cricket chief Inderjit Singh Bindra told AFP.

"There`ll be more money for the players as well as the board, which will then plough the funds back into the development of junior cricket in India,`` he said.

"It`s a concept that is bound to catch on in the rest of the world.``

The new circuit will see the Indian season, hitherto confined from September to May, extend to June.

So far, cricket in the peak months of May to August is confined only to England. Sri Lanka plays its home internationals in the relatively rain-free period of July to September.

"Matches during the summer will be day-night affairs,`` Bindra said. "We have at least seven top-class cricket venues with lighting facilities.``

Bindra brushed aside concerns that the gruelling schedule, which could resemble an ongoing soap opera on television, will tell heavily on players` health.

"Professional cricketers have to adjust to it and pace themselves accordingly like other sportsmen,`` he said.

The experiment of year-long internationals will be tested from the current season itself.

Australia, which is already in India to play a one-off test match in New Delhi next week, will be joined by South Africa for a triangular limited-overs series which runs till November 6.

South Africa will then play three test matches in India till December 14, and immediately host the Indians for three further tests and a limited-overs triangular also involving Zimbabwe.

The Indians, who return from South Africa in mid-February, will leave soon after for a five-test tour of the West Indies which ends on May 3.

In May-end India will host a multi-nation limited-overs tournament to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country`s independence.

Details of the tournament are being worked out, Bindra said, adding that Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were the likely participants.

The Indians will tour Sri Lanka in August-September for the Asia Cup and a two-test series against the islanders.

This will be followed in September-end by a five-match series against Pakistan in Canada and the first-ever limited-overs tournament in the United States featuring India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

From October to December, India will host New Zealand and Sri Lanka for tests and one-day internationals, followed by a threetest home series against Australia.

The proposed schedule almost rules out English county engagements for the top Indian cricketers like skipper Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble.

Raj Singh Dungarpur, who replaced Bindra as president of the Indian cricket board last month, said players may be given longterm contracts by the board to compensate for loss of earnings elsewhere.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)