Only one warm up game will hurt India : Chappell

Sydney, July 7 (UNI) Modern schedules of the touring sides are offering limited time to adjust to the extra bounce and pace of Australian pitches and it can hurt India this summer, asserts former Indian coach Greg Chappell.

Chappell, who resigned after a disastrous World Cup campaign of the Indian cricket team and a series of controversies and personality clashes, said ''The more time you've got the better it is, but programs in modern cricket just don't allow for it and international cricketers are used to it.'' India will get only a three-day warm up game against Victoria beginning on December 20 at St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne prior to their two-and-A-half-month long-tour to Australia as confirmed by Cricket Australia.

Chappell, who has accepted the invitation from new Australian coach Tim Nielsen to work as an occasional consultant to the national team at the centre of excellence in Brisbane, said ''If you had a month and you could play four games, that would be perfect, but the modern programs don't allow for it. That's the way it is, so the players just have to adjust as quickly as they can.'' ''It's not ideal,'' he added.

India will play four-match Test series against the World champions for the Border-Gavasakar Trophy, a triangular Commonwealth Bank one-day series with Sri Lanka as the third team and a Twenty20 international against Australia.

UNI