The schedule of the Asia Cup tournament next month has stirred controversy. According to the schedule, India are slated to play two matches back-to-back on September 18 and 19. While the first one will be against a qualifier team, the second will be against arch-rivals Pakistan.
This has not gone down well with many. Former India opener Virender Sehwag has also slammed the schedule and said that the men in blue do not need to play the tournament.
“I am really shocked to see the scheduling because which country plays back-to-back cricket matches these days? There was a gap of two days in between the T20 matches in England. But here here you are playing ODIs under hot Dubai weather without a break. So, I don’t think this is a correct scheduling,” Sehwag told India TV.
He said that the scheduling put India at a disadvantage. "Pakistan will be in a good shape whereas the Indian players will be tired. And if we end up losing the match, then there might be a problem. We always want India to win against Pakistan but if the Indian players are tired then Pakistan will definitely have the advantage,” he said.
“Why there’s such hue and cry over playing the Asia Cup? Don’t play the Asia Cup. Prepare the team for the home series or the away series. It’s really difficult to play back-to-back games,” Sehwag added.
Sehwag said that a player needs at least 48 hours to recover after playing an ODI match because you field for 3.5 hours and sometimes bat for hours too.
The Asia Cup will be played from September 15 to September 28. Unlike the previous edition which was held in a T20 format, the 2018 edition will feature 50-over matches.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are all confirmed participants while the remaining spots are still up for grabs amongst UAE, Singapore, Oman, Nepal, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Group A consists of India, Pakistan and the qualifier while Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.