MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team is reportedly set to take on South Africa in a 5-match T20I series some ten days after the IPL is done and dusted.
As per Cricbuzz, which reported on the development, the T20I series against South Africa will will be held from June 9 to 19. “This is part of the FTP and there were always to be played after the IPL,” a BCCI official told the cricket website.
The apex council of the BCCI, which met on Wednesday (March 2), decided on the schedule for the South Africa series and Cricbuzz further reports that the venues will be Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, New Delhi, Rajkot and Chennai.
Cricbuzz reports that BCCI’s apex council has also factored in the weather conditions in the country around that time and according to information gathered by the board managers (placed before the meeting), there may be slight rain (emphasis ours) for the first game in Cuttack (as is the seasonal norm in that part of the world at that time of the year). For the second game in Vizag, there is less chance of rain while warm conditions are expected in other three centres – Delhi, Rajkot and Chennai – during those games.
Quick point. The optimism of the men who matter within the BCCI indicated by the piece of “weather analysis” provided to Cricbuzz appears to verge on the side of faith more than science, SportzPower believes. Slight rain in Cuttack, warm conditions in the other centres? Really? A simple Google search indicates that India will see 22 rainy days in June.
Slice and dice this any which way, there is no getting away from the reality that this series has been timed slap bang with the onset of the monsoons in India. Translated, SportzPower does NOT understand how anyone can argue that the monsoons will not be a disrupter during this series.
Wonder what Disney Star, which has to cough up Rs 78-odd crores to the BCCI as media rights fees for every game played has to say about the scheduling?
