Can Indian team think-tank and management ask for Warmup matches in South Africa?

[fineleg]

Currently no warmup matches in SA. And, BCCI wont bother to contact South African board to schedule anything. Can Indian team think-tank and management ask the stupid BCCI to schedule Warmup matches in South Africa? Basically, all the Test players will have to be rested for the NZ ODI series. Send them earlier to SA, and get them to play warmup matches and get used to the conditions. Its really ridiculous to have the SA Test start a mere 4 days! after the NZ ODI series. Jetlagged, tired, no preparation and you are suddenly facing Steyn, Morkel and Parnel in SA pitches! It also needs time to schedule warm up matches so BCCI must act now. But they wont act unless our senior players insist on scheduling this. Hopefully someone from our Team Management will talk about this to the morons at BCCI! Is this the worst ever scheduling done even by BCCI standards!??

[Raghav_12]

Very valid point. Playing on SA pitches without any warm up games looks like a sureshot recipe for disaster. Hope they do something about that. Where do they have first test match? Hope it is not Durban.

[fineleg]

Not Durban, its Centurion, but even then this is a recipe for disaster. I really hope Tendulkar, Dhoni, Dravid, Gary Kirsten have a talk with selectors and BCCI officials. Ridiculous! You need a few days for acclimatizing, jetlag, getting used to conditions etc. Infact I suggest resting some players for NZ Test-3 if possible to keep them fresh. But definitely for NZ ODIs, give a rest to all our Test players! Useless to play the NZ ODIs in Indian pitches till the last minute before rushing to SA. Think about the reverse. South Africa will NEVER agree to tour India without a good Board Presidents XI warmup match!!! and we do this way when we tour?

[mastana]

Once again no warm up match?

[Ultimate_Game]

I don't think BCCI really cares about India cricket or learn from past mistakes. After disastrous T20 world cup in Eng due to a gap of just 4-5 days between IPL and the start of the tourney, they did the exact same thing before the next T20 cup and guess what - we performed the same way we did in the previous cup, i.e. lost all the super 6 matches. Now BCCI is doing the same thing is tests as well. India showed up in Aus in 2007-08 for the first test without playing even a practice match and we lost the series because of that very reason. Check out the series results and you will see that India was extremely competitive against aussies in the rest of the series. In fact Dravid mentioned after the series that it would be nice to get a warm-up or two to get used to the conditions in places like Aus, SA or Eng but BCCI simply brushed his comments off saying that as professionals the players are expected to perform in every match and not expect warm-up games. Guess we will need to win other matches of the series after conceding the first one. Sad that Indian cricket will always be burdened by BCCI.

[ravishingravi]

BCCI might squeaze in a 20-20 game in the 4 days.

[Deleted_User_1]

BCCI sucks donkey's balls. They should not play anyone in the test team for the NZ ODIs. Give them a few days rest and immediately fly them to SA. Play them against a club team at the least. I am sure the club level pacers would love to go at the likes of Sehwag, Dravid, SRT and Laxman!

[saneindian]

The players did ask for the NZ ODI series to be cut to 3 ODIs from 5 ODIs. Would have given us an extra week in SA and the time for a warmup match. BCCI said "it will affect the TV rights, the schedule is fixed no change. Anyone wants to rest, can ask for rest". What the jokers did not realise was that players are askin for time in SA to acclamatise and not take rest at home. But then can we exect anything else from the BCCI thugs?

[DomainK]

This is seriously inexcusable. Now our first match will be sacrificed to familiarization.

[Chalks]

BCCI =

[fineleg]

BCCI said "it will affect the TV rights, the schedule is fixed no change. Anyone wants to rest, can ask for rest". What the jokers did not realise was that players are askin for time in SA to acclamatise and not take rest at home.

Exactly. They need a warmup match or two! Not to sip chai and have vada paav at home! Idiotic administrators we have.

This is seriously inexcusable. Now our first match will be sacrificed to familiarization.

Not just that one match. Going 0-1 at Centurion, will make it psychologically more difficult to be confident at Durban(Test-2) and we will be playing catchup. Someone must tie these BCCI morons to a tree and whip them! :mad: Indian team is in good form in Tests, and we are having such lousy preparation for SA! Lunatic BCCI.

[King Tendulkar]

Finey this is spot on. WTF 4 days between NZ odi and 1st test. Is BCCI conducting some sort of sick joke

[Sooda]

I imagine a lot of the test players will be rested for the NZ ODIs, still no warm up match is a joke. Maybe the core test players can go to SA early, even if they dont play a match going early would help. Youre right players should make a stand on this.

[Karan114]

The obstacles that our hard working Test team faces from other opposition sides pale into comparison with the biggest of them all, their own board.

[Fontaine]

This is such a farce. How can anyone expect our Test side to come good when they have no chance for some real preperation?

[Sooda]

Storm any players who have twitter accounts asking them to pester the board.

[fineleg]

Storm any players who have twitter accounts asking them to pester the board.

They'll end up blocking you :--D

[fineleg]

Glad to hear that Gary Kirsten and team management pushed the issue with BCCI, and the latter finally relented. Still I cannot imagine why the fool Shetty has to say "we got request from team management and decided to approve". So, everytime the team management has to launch this request campaign? Dont the bozos at BCCI know by now that an away tour needs some acclimatization? Anyway good on BCCI to relent, but I'm in no mood to "praise BCCI" since they did not do this voluntarily and had to be "pushed". Two things: 1. Get all the players out to SA early including Raina. Critical series: All the playing 11 need to be on top and fully ready to face SA. Even a single person out of the 11 not fully ready will hurt us. So, get everyone fit and acclimatised. 2. Dont just "send them to SA early". They are not on a holiday tour. Get some good practice matches scheduled. With some decent opposition, use the darn BCCI "arm twisting" if needed to get CSA to get decent opposition and grounds/pitches for warmup matches. Just "sending them early" is not sufficient. Does Kirsten and Dhoni need to beg and request each and every thing to BCCI?

[coffee_rules]

There were no warmups even in the previous tours to Aus and NZ. I think the players (have heard Sehwag say) think the nets makes them more prepared than practice matches against county second/third X1.

[fineleg]

There were no warmups even in the previous tours to Aus and NZ. I think the players (have heard Sehwag say) think the nets makes them more prepared than practice matches against county second/third X1.

Yes usually we get a local varsity team equivalent on a stupid pitch. But we present the Board Presidents XI with a strong Virat Kohli and Rahane types to visiting Aus, NZ, SA teams. Thats why I am saying BCCI must get CSA to give a good pitch/ground and a good opposition SA-A team or next level for a warmup match. But again Dhoni and Kirsten has to beg, and plead with BCCI - otherwise the Shetty and Shah buffoons wont do anything. But perhaps MSD and GK are tired of begging, and will just take the "go early" nod as a big win against BCCI, go early and do net practice.