On Sunday, Ravi Shastri, the former coach of the Indian cricket team, expressed doubt regarding the likelihood of players receiving an extended break after the Indian Premier League (IPL) or practice matches before future World Test Championship (WTC) finals unless there is a collective change in mindset among all involved parties.
Following India’s 209-run loss to Australia at the Oval, head coach Rahul Dravid suggested that arriving in England at least two weeks earlier and participating in some warm-up matches would benefit the team before the critical game.
However, Shastri did not support this notion and placed the responsibility on the players to make their own decisions.
“That’s never going to happen. Let’s be realistic. You’ll get 20 days, but if that’s the case, you must miss the IPL. The choice is yours (players),” Shastri said on Star Sports.
Furthermore, Shastri hinted at the need for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to engage in discussions with the IPL teams to establish a way forward.
“It’s up to the establishment as well. I’m sure the BCCI is going to review this in the future. If the WTC Final is going to come after the IPL, in the month of June, for that season, if your team qualifies for the final, there should be certain clauses put in for the franchises,” said Shastri.
“What’s amazed me though is the way that the pitch has behaved. Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara will be kicking themselves for playing the shots that they played. They were poor shots when they were batting beautifully,” added by Shastri.
