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Playing With Two Squads In Different Locations Is A Possibility In Long Run Ravi Shastri

Playing with two squads in different locations is a possibility in long run: Ravi Shastri

The Virat Kohl-led Indian team will be flying to the United Kingdom where they will play the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand which will be followed by a five-match Test series against England.

While the side will be in England battling out in the Tests, another Indian team is slated to travel to Sri Lanka for limited-overs fixtures. Head coach Ravi Shastri during the press conference has said that playing with two different squads in two different locations would become a regular norm in the coming years.

“Playing with two squads in different locations regularly is a possibility in the long run,” Shastri said in the pre-departure press conference.

"Well you never know. At the moment it's happening because of the current situation and restrictions on travel and things of that sort. But you never know. In the future if you want to expand the game, especially in the shorter of formats, then it could be the way to go,” said Shastri.

"You know, why not, when you have that much volume of cricketers and if you want to spread the T20 game, across the globe, then that could be the way ahead because if you're talking of Olympics in four years or eight years' time, you need more countries to play the game. So that could be a way forward," he added.

Captain Virat Kohli has said that it’s difficult for the players to stay motivated and find the right kind of mental space in the current situation so having different teams on different tours can be an option.

"With the current structure and the kind of structure that you're competing inside for a long period of time, it's very difficult for the players to stay motivated and find the right kind of mental space," said Kohli.

India will lock horns with New Zealand in the WTC final in Southampton from June 18.

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WTC final | Virat Kohli rules out any pressure, banks on rich experience of playing in England

India skipper Virat Kohli ruled out any sort of pressure on him ahead of the tour of England where India stand a chance to win the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship. Addressing a virtual press conference from Mumbai along with the head coach Ravi Shastri, Kohli said that his main focus and goal is to take Team India in a forward direction. He said that helping each other in a team helps in building a team environment and he is under no pressure till he is giving his best and helping his teammates in their journey. "There's no pressure on me. I don't have any pressure on me. I have no ulterior motive, my only aim is to take Indian cricket ahead. What matters for us that we help each other," Kohli said. India will not have a lot of practice and time to acclimatise to the England conditions due to Covid-19 related restrictions ahead of the WTC final which the coach Shastri rated as the biggest, if not the biggest tournament ever. But, Kohli downplayed the lack of preparation and chose to bank on the rich experience of playing in England over the years. He said that even the younger members of the side such as Mohammed Siraj has played some amount of cricket in England and hence India would not falter even with just four practice sessions. "We don't mind 4 practice sessions. We have played in England before. Even the youngsters like Siraj have played in England for India A,” Kohli said. India will be confident of their chances in the WTC final against New Zealand on the back of strong performances in Australia that too without the presence of skipper Kohli and all of the frontline pace bowlers such as Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah missing parts of the series due to injury.

Domestic players call for central contracts as savings deplete in Covid-19 pandemic

The world came to a standstill last year after there was a Covid-19 outburst all over the globe and cricket was no different. The cricketing activities in the country and all around the world were put to a halt resulting in financial constraints for the players. There have been talks about compensating the Indian domestic players who have missed out on playing during the pandemic. Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat has said that the domestic players should also be given the annual contracts just like the national side. The left-arm bowler did admit that it is not possible for the boards to hand over contracts to all the players but they can pick up best 30 out of the lot for the purpose. “Talks over central contracts were happening even before the pandemic. Even cricketers at the age group level should be compensated for the lack of cricket, it will keep them motivated and then hand contracts to senior players,” he said. “You can’t give contracts to all but you can pick top-30 players for contracts. A pool of 30 players sounds feasible to me,” Unadkat told PTI. Chhattisgarh captain Harpeet Singh Bhatia also explained how he has to travel to the UK and play club cricket there to make ends meet. “I played all of 10 white ball games last season. It wasn't clear enough clearly. I had to come to the UK to make extra money. Since I don’t have a job back in India, I come to England anyway to supplement my income,” he said. Bhatia further echoed what Unadkat had said that a central contract will help him financially and he won’t need to travel to UK. “If I had a central contract back home, it wouldn’t be a compulsion for me to play in the UK,” Bhatia added. BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has said that the governing body is working towards the compensation package. However, the matter wasn’t taken up in the recently-concluded SGM on May 29.

WTC final | Kohli, Shastri bullish as India prepare to take off for 'one heck of event'

The Indian team management led by the head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli has echoed the sentiments of Test specialist players and said that the World Test Championship is one of the biggest, if not the biggest test for the side and the Indian team has earned very right in ‘one heck of an event.’ Kohli said that the side takes a lot of pride in their ascendency in the longest format and they value the WTC final a lot as the tournament has been ‘one of its kind’ in the world of cricket. Ravi Shastri also opined that the ICC should consider hosting a three-match series as the final of the Test Championship if they want to continue with the tournament going forward. However, he said that the side wants to finish this tournament quickly and achieve a ‘final great victory.’

Had mental-health issues & have sought support to resolve them myself: Veda Krishnamurthy

India women’s team player Veda Krishnamurthy suffered a huge loss after her mother and sister succumbed to Covid-19. The Indian cricketer in a chat with ESPNCricinfo said that she was completely destroyed and all the other family members were broken. “I’m a big believer in what destiny holds for you, but I really hoped that my sister would come back home. When she didn’t, I was completely destroyed. All of us were broken to pieces,” Krishnamurthy told ESPNcricinfo’. “…I still had to put up a brave face for the rest of the family. What I had to do in those testing couple of weeks was learn to tune myself out of my grief. But it keeps coming back to haunt you,” she said. The middle-order batter revealed that she has herself struggled with mental health issues. Veda was also removed from the list of centrally contracted players for 2020-21. Besides Veda, who was in Grade C last year, Ekta Bisht (Grade B), Anuja Patil and D. Hemlatha (both Grade C) have also been excluded. “A lot of people who are playing cricket currently know what mental health is, but it is also important to accept that if the system is not doing anything to offer you mental-health assistance, you can and must find the support for yourself if you can afford it,” she said. “I’ve had mental-health issues and I’ve sought support to resolve them myself,” she added. Veda has played 48 ODIs and 76 T20Is for the team but unfortunately won’t be travelling to the UK with the team. India are slated o play a one-off Test against England and three ODIs and as many T20Is on the tour.