ENG vs ODI 2022 | Holding tri-series can help in better scheduling and recovery, opines Rohit Sharma

Of late, there has been a lot of buzz in the cricketing fraternity about the Indian cricket board’s decision to hand out frequent rests to its senior players. The squad selections for the upcoming West Indies tour have drawn varied opinions from a host of experts and former cricketers, with most of them choosing criticism. 

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, however, has stood firm on the team’s policy for picking out teams. The 35-year-old believes with such tight scheduling of international games, it is not possible for all players to play constantly while maintaining a high tempo.

"These all are high-pressure games that we play, whenever you represent your country, you want to come out with a lot of intensity," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

A way to combat these issues can be to reintroduce multi-nation tournaments, according to the veteran. Such tournaments were a common occurrence in the early part of this century but soon faded out in popularity. The last ODI tri-series was held between West Indies, Bangladesh and Ireland in 2019, and flew under the radar of most fans.

“There was a time, when we were kids, I grew up, I watched a lot of tri-series or quadrangular series, but that has completely stopped. I think that can be a way forward so that there is enough time for a team to recover and get back," Rohit opined.

Currently, India’s tour of England has them slated to play six matches in 10 days, including three T20Is and as many ODIs. In just five days’ time, the Men in Blue will be in action again, playing three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies within a span of 17 days.

"I do think it is important but it can be managed in a better way for sure. The scheduling has to be done with some space as well. You have to play bilateral series," the Indian captain stated.

"You do not want to compromise on that so of course, I do understand when we play the bilateral series, the scheduling, time between each game can be managed slightly better, not just from India's perspective, but all boards.”

The likes of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli will all be missing from the ODIs in the Caribbean, while Kohli will also be sitting out the five T20Is. The Mumbaikar feels such decisions are necessary for sustaining players in such jam-packed schedules. 

"If that happens, you see the best quality of players coming out and representing every game. When you play back-to-back games, you have to look after players and understand the workload. Honestly, from the outside world, people want to see all the best players playing and if those things are managed quite well, the quality of cricket will not be compromised," Rohit concluded.