The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) strongly denied receiving any complaint from Indian cricketers about a cramped calendar and said the growing list of injuries was not because being overworked.
“I have not received any letter from any player. Mr (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni has written no letter to me. I have not seen what he has said in the press conference and before making a comment I have to see what he has said,” BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said.
Asked if the growing injury list of the Indian players was because of being overworked, Mr. Srinivasan said, “If someone falls down and gets injured that doesn’t mean (they are overworked)”, he said.
Mr. Srinivasan was responding to recent reports that the Indian players had sent an SOS to the Board, requesting it to cut down on the matches and do away with meaningless series.
Even skipper Dhoni had recently talked about the workload on his bowlers in a press conference.
However, BCCI Media and Finance Committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said the Board was not forcing any player to play in case of fatigue or injury.
“If any player is feeling tired or fatigued or if he feels that he would not be able perform due to some illness then he must inform the selector,” Mr. Shukla told reporters outside the Parliament.
“The BCCI's policy is very clear. We will give the player rest. We are not forcing any player to participate in the series,” Mr. Shukla asserted.
He denied that the BCCI has received such a letter and rejected reports that the players are unhappy with the scheduling.
“We have not received any letter from any player saying that players are unhappy or complained about the schedule is absolutely wrong. There is no truth in it,” he said.
“The international calendar is like that. But we are working it out,” he added.
