New Delhi: India’s cricket calendar has never been the stuff for casual reading. It is a frenetic series of engagements that leave those following often confused and the players frequently jaded. Take a look at the Indian engagements in the recent past and you can make out the sheer number of matches being played. From South Africa to Ireland and England, Sri Lanka to the West Indies, Team India has been around the globe more times than one can count. Apart from the air miles earned, few of these series have really tested them. But they are still being played, and so much so that now there are two full India teams, with few common players, plying their trade around the world.
When all of this was done, there were still a few teams left to play but that too was taken care of. Now we play all the Asian boys in the Asia Cup with Team A, while Team B goes to Zimbabwe.
We’re sure the Board of Control for Cricket in India doesn’t like these teams being called A and B. So, can we call them the T20 International and One-day International teams? Whatever the nomenclature is, there are two teams.
Anyhow, let’s focus on the Asia Cup. As things stand, playing Pakistan was something that the BCCI would have loved to do on a regular basis, but the political scenario doesn’t quite allow that. So have a tournament abroad, which doesn’t quite flout the guidelines.
Even better, make the most of the opportunity and have India and Pakistan potentially play each other thrice over a span of 15 days. There’s the league match, then the Super Four game, which are set. And if BCCI and Pakistan Cricket Board’s combined prayers are answered, the two teams will end up in the final as well.
Quite a lot of India-Pakistan games, but since when was that a concern? More the merrier was the mantra for a long time before government restrictions and the subsequent Covid pandemic put a wrench in the works.
In sheer numbers, these three matches possibly will gross more than all the other matches in the Asia Cup, so if the turnstiles are clicking, who’s complaining.
Then there’s this whole thing about Virat Kohli and Babar Azam on the same field. Another issue that will be hyped and sold. The fun and games are just beginning.
Squad for Zimbabwe series: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
Squad of Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
