The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Players unhappy over Pakistan tour schedule

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 21, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Players unhappy over Pakistan tour schedule

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has committed a faux pas by scheduling the tour of Pakistan early next year, much against the interest of the Indian team. A BCCI source revealed that the senior players have expressed their unhappiness with a choked programme. The Indian team is scheduled to leave on January 1, 2006 to play a two-day warm-up game on January 2 and 3 before the first Test at Karachi, scheduled to start on January 5. This means that the Indian team would get just one-day gap between the friendly and the first Test.

The senior players feel that the time is too short for the bowlers, the spinners in particular, to get used to the Australian Kookaburra ball to be used for the Test series in Pakistan. India finishes its home Test series against Sri Lanka at Kanpur on December 22. In India, SG balls are used for Test matches.

The players also told the BCCI that they have not received the six-monthly tour programme as per the agreement in the Players' Contract.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already confirmed India's tour programme to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

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