Asia Cup 2018: Virender Sehwag lashes out at scheduling

New Delhi, July 26: Former India opener Virender Sehwag slammed the poor scheduling of the Asia Cup 2018 tournament in the UAE, which will see defending champions India face Pakistan a day after their opening campaign against a Qualifier. The schedule for the Asia Cup 2018 was announced on Tuesday (July 24).

"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 and here you are playing ODIs under hot Dubai weather and that too without a break. So, I don't think this is a correct scheduling," Sehwag was quoted as saying by IndiaTV.

"There shouldn't be any back-to-back games. If the BCCI had to cancel anything then it should have been the qualifier game in the Asia Cup rather than reducing the four-day practice match against Essex to three days.

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"A player needs at least 48 hours to recover after playing an ODI match because you field for 3.5 hours and after that if you bat for 2 hours then it makes your total time spend on the ground to 5.5 hours. So, it takes a minimum of 24 to 48 hours for a player to recover," said Sehwag.

The heatwave sweeping across England forced India to reduce the four-dayer against Essex to a three-day contest.

Shed a small tear of pride for our heroes who fought and who laid down their lives in all their glory for our tomorrow.
They fought at heights over 18k feet, inhospitable rugged terrain ,steep mountains. The Nation rose above their own self. #KargilVijayDiwas ! Jai Hind pic.twitter.com/Tw3tLrOAbp

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 26, 2018

Sehwag said playing back-to-back games will take a toll on the Indian players, giving Pakistan an advantage before the game.

"When Team India will play the Asia Cup in Dubai in September, there will be too much heat and it will hamper the players' recovery process. 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 as we all are very passionate whenever we play against Pakistan. We always want India to win against Pakistan but if the Indian players are tired then Pakistan will definitely have the advantage," he said.

Sehwag said if there was a problem with the scheduling then India shouldn't have played the Asia Cup.

"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," said Sehwag.

The tournament, scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 15-28, will see Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka in the opening game.