Has Virat Kohli’s comments on the poor scheduling of the South Africa tour caught the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unawares? Looks like it!
Only last week the BCCI honorary secretary Amitabh Chaudhary had announced that the Board will conduct a special camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru ahead of the side’s tour to the Protea land. That had raised eyebrows then — given the fact that India’s series against Sri Lanka would only be getting over on December 24, three days before the team’s departure to South Africa.
And, after Kohli’s dig at the Board, Sportstar has learnt that the Board may bench some of the senior players for the ODI series against the island nation, to keep them fresh.
And in that time, a special rehabilitation camp for the players could be conducted at the NCA in a bid to get them ready for the Test series in South Africa.
However, there has been no official confirmation on that yet. “You never know a camp might just be held now, after all this,” a senior Board official said.
However, confusion remains on the feasibility of the camp as there is not much time left between the Test series and the ODIs. Secondly, resting the star players and fielding a rather second-string side for the limited overs games would lower down the crowd response for the series. The first Test in Kolkata registered a very low turnout, and the next two Tests could also witness similar scenes, given the fact that the World No. 1 side is taking on a rather low-ranked Sri Lankan side.
So, will the Board be finally coming up with the camp in between?
“I have to check on that,” is what BCCI’s acting president, C. K. Khanna, told Sportstar . The veteran administrator was quick to add that the honorary secretary — Amitabh Chaudhary — may have a better answer to the question. This publication has also reliably learnt that BCCI honorary treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary, too, was not consulted before announcing that a camp will be held.
“You will have to wait for that. I will find out too,” Khanna added.
Despite repetitive attempts, Amitabh Chaudhary remained unavailable for comments.
Sources at the NCA, too, confirmed to this publication, that as of now there has not been any notification on any camps. “But then, you never know what happens in the next few days,” the source pointed out.
As Kohli gears up to win the second Test in Nagpur, his comments have certainly opened a can of worms.
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