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Shubman Gill Calls for "Loose Calendar" to Ease Player Workload in Cricket

Indian captain Shubman Gill has advocated for a more balanced and "loose" international cricket calendar to address player workload. He highlighted that current tightly packed tours leave minimal time for recovery and proper preparation, especially when switching formats or countries. Gill emphasized that even winning a series does not negate the underlying issue of inadequate preparation time before crucial Test matches. The skipper expressed hope that the team management would take action to ensure better preparation ahead of future red-ball series.

Key Points: Shubman Gill Advocates for Balanced Cricket Schedule

  • Calls for balanced schedule
  • Highlights lack of recovery time
  • Stresses need for proper preparation
  • Notes recent tight turnarounds
3 min read

"Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar": Gill on gruelling schedules

India captain Shubman Gill urges a looser international calendar, citing lack of preparation time and player fatigue in packed tours.

"Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar. - Shubman Gill"

Vadodara, January 10

Team Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has spoken about the need for a more balanced international calendar, stressing that players require adequate rest and preparation time, especially while switching formats and travelling across countries.

Gill felt that the current schedule leaves little room for recovery, something that wasn't the case a few years ago.

Highlighting how tightly packed tours have become, he said, "Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar. Maybe it would be easier. I don't think in 2016, 2017, 2018, there was a time when if you are coming from another country to here, you are playing a match on the fourth day. Maybe it is easier to play a match on the tenth day. Maybe it is easier to play a match on the twelfth day. It gives a bit of a breather for the players as well and it gives you that time to prepare and feel confident for the next series."

The India skipper pointed out that preparation time has been a major concern in recent Test series, particularly when the team has had to move quickly from one country to another.

"One of the suggestions that I was very keen on is, if you would see in the last two Test series that we played, we didn't have that much time to prepare. It is not easy playing in India and playing another match in a different country on the fourth day, especially when you are travelling on long tours," he added.

Gill added that results alone should not mask the underlying issue.

"Yes, I feel even if we would have won the series against South Africa, it still wouldn't have made that much of a difference because we need to prepare well to be able to win Test matches all over the world," he explained.

Emphasising the importance of preparation, especially while transitioning from white-ball cricket to red-ball formats, Gill said the lack of training time has been evident in recent assignments.

"Preparation for me is really big and I didn't think that we had that much time to prepare when we came back from Australia or even after the Asia Cup when we played the West Indies series," he noted.

"I think it is important to at least have some bit of preparation, sometimes, especially changing from white ball format to red ball. So, this was one of the things that I was very keen on and I think we will take some action and we will keep it in mind to be able to prepare well before the start of any red ball series," he added.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
It's a valid point, but as fans we also want to see our team play. The calendar is packed because there's so much demand. Maybe the solution is to have a larger pool of players and rotate them more aggressively. Rest key players for bilateral series, save them for ICC events.
R
Rohit P
Absolutely spot on! Look at the recent SA tour. We looked undercooked. Switching from T20s to Test cricket in 3 days is impossible. The board needs to listen to its captain. Player welfare should come before filling the coffers with more matches. 🏏
M
Michael C
Respectfully, while I understand the fatigue, this is the reality of modern sport globally. Footballers, NBA players - they all have gruelling schedules. Top athletes are paid to adapt. Perhaps better management of workloads is needed, not a looser calendar.
S
Shreya B
Gill bhai speaking from experience. He's young and still feeling the burn. Imagine the senior players! We need to protect our assets. A "little loose calendar" as he says is not too much to ask. Quality over quantity, always.
K
Karthik V
The core issue is too much meaningless cricket. Cut down on some bilateral ODI series and T20s. Focus on the World Test Championship, ICC events, and key rivalries. Give players proper breaks and preparation time for the big series. Simple.

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