IPL 2021: BCCI shoots down Virat Kohli's call to reschedule international games

New Delhi, March 31: Ahead of the first ODI of the recently-concluded series against England, India skipper Virat Kohli had spoken about the need to keep players in the loop when it comes to scheduling games as life in the bio-bubble can get taxing both physically and mentally.

But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said reworking the international calendar in the current scenario is a little difficult, keeping the interest of all stakeholders in mind.

Speaking to ANI, a BCCI official said while the concern shown by Kohli may be a valid one, making changes in the schedule would raise bigger concerns and the solution wouldn't be an easy one, especially with the impact COVID-19 has had and continues to have across the board.

"It may be a valid concern but the alternate would raise much bigger concerns. It can be addressed in two ways. The first is to figure out a rotation policy that gives players some freedom for down-time. Take the example of the ECB where Joe Root is only playing red-ball cricket when a player of his calibre would do extremely well in white-ball cricket. The second is to schedule a lesser number of international games. The execution of any of these paths is not that simple," he said.

Asked how it would be a problem, the official said a number of issues would come up and one that would actually hurt the financial condition of domestic cricketers, and that is something that the BCCI has been looking to address post the COA era.

"Firstly, contrary to assumptions, the BCCI's wealth is not infinite. Secondly, the stock of the domestic cricketers deserves a greater amount of attention. Thirdly, there is an increase in the number of state associations who have a steep task facing them to develop the game in their regions which they had not done earlier and this is in addition to the existing associations who have been struggling to meet their own standards with the shakeup that has taken away experience across the board," he explained.

The official further pointed the reduction in international games would directly hurt the revenue generated and that would again go on to hurt the domestic cricketers because contracted players do not get affected by the number of games played.

"Kohli has raised a very important point while talking about international games where he spoke about the importance of scheduling, going forward and he does have the luxury to raise this point. But he has not expressed any reservations regarding the scheduling of the IPL, so one presumes that he is okay with that and the possible increase in the number of games once the two new teams are added later this year.

"One needs to bear in mind that a reduction in international matches means a reduction in the revenue of the BCCI and consequently a reduction in the revenue of the state associations and the domestic players. The revenue of the contracted players of the BCCI is insulated even if there is a reduction in the number of home international games, but the revenue of the others is not," he said.

The official said if the BCCI does look to rework the scheduling in the current scenario, the player payment structure might also need a re-look. "Till this is done, the selectors may need to enforce a rotation policy that encourages players to give preference to participate in international cricket compared to the IPL. Incidentally, one of the aspects that needs to be corrected is the remuneration of the selectors as they together get paid less than a single player in the A+ category. To put it succinctly, Kohli's suggestion is not feasible and raises the club versus country debate prominently," he said.