Cricket, like everything else, may emerge in a new avatar in the post-pandemic world. And Indian cricket — the cash cow of the global cricketing fraternity — may adopt an innovative measure to make up for lost time by making the white-ball and red-ball squads play international games simultaneously.
It may sound incredible, but playing multiple internationals on the same day is among the different options being considered for “making up for lost time”.
“None of us know when sport, especially international cricket, will resume. But if we have to safeguard the interests of all our stakeholders — from sponsors to spectators — one of the options is to select two different squads and play a Test series and a T20I series simultaneously,” a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official told The Hindu .
If the BCCI is forced to squeeze several games into a limited window to take care of the broadcaster’s interest, it will have to field two squads. Fans may thus watch a Test during the day followed by a T20I under floodlights.
The Hindu understands that the BCCI hierarchy has sounded out the coaching staff, who have been crunching numbers to work out the possibilities of having two competitive squads at their disposal, should the need arise.
Second instance
If the plan is adopted, India would become the second team, after Australia, to play two different series simultaneously.
In February 2017, a day after hosting Sri Lanka in a T20I at the Adelaide Oval (Feb. 22), Australia began a four-Test series in India in Pune. Obviously, Australia fielded two different squads in the series, something that India — and others — may be forced to do in future.
