Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has slammed the India-England itinerary for the five-match Test series, saying the upcoming tour is “weird and absurd”.
The Indian cricket team is all set to travel to England on June 2 to play in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18-22 and then they will have to wait for 42 days to play their first Test match against Joe Root and his team from August 4 in Nottingham.
The former Indian cricketer was really surprised with the scheduling of India’s Test series against England, questioning why they can host the five-match Test series immediately after the WTC Final. He was also not happy with Sri Lanka and Pakistan touring England for the white-ball series in June and July.
Vengsarkar told News18, “What are they going to do in those one-and-a-half months? I am really surprised with the scheduling. What kind of a tour is being organized? How can you have a Test match now and you don’t have any cricket for one-and-a-half months, and then you play the Test series.”
He further said, “Even if Pakistan and Sri Lanka visit England for limited-overs series in July (England host Sri Lanka for three T20Is and three ODIs in June-July and Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is in July), why can’t they have the England-India Tests immediately after the WTC final? Is the team coming back after the WTC final and then going back? What are they going to do for those one-and-a-half months?”
Vengsarkar concluded, “Even if they schedule county matches, one-and-a-half months is too long a period to play county matches. This itinerary is weird. If there is no cricket for one-and-a-half months, it is strange. If India is there to play Test matches, they should continue playing Tests rather than have a gap. Why are Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing T20Is and ODIs in between? That is absurd.”
