David Warner slams 'very, very poor scheduling'

What’s the story?

Australian vice-captain David Warner has slammed Australia’s schedule and labelled it “very very poor”. Australia play a Twenty20 International at home the day and then are scheduled to play a Test series in India the next day.

"Scheduling is obviously Cricket Australia's area. They play the big role in putting that on. For me, it's about going out there and playing the game and not worrying too much about that. In saying that, it is very, very poor scheduling. To have your Test team going away to play a Test match... it doesn't make any sense to us,” Warner said in an interview to Fox Sports.

In case you didn’t know...

Australia are scheduled to travel to India for a 4-match Test series which begins on February 23. Also, the team will be involved in a T20 match just a day earlier on February 22 against Sri Lanka at home.

Thus there is only a 15 to 16-hour gap between the two games and thus this scheduling has come under the scanner.

The heart of the matter

The T20s take place in Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide on February 17, 19 and 22, and the first Test in India begins on February 23.

This could thus see many of Australia’s first-choice T20 players in David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Usman Khawaja will not be able to play in the T20 series. Also, players like Glenn Maxwell who could be a part of the Test side would face a lot of problem with the scheduling.

Also, with rumours doing the rounds that the next T20 World Cup could be held in 2018, these regular players would not get enough practice in their home conditions. Also, Australia is the venue of the next event, and this shambolic planning could rob the players of much-needed practice.

The Test players will undergo an extensive preparation camp before the Test series and will train in the ICC Academy in Dubai where they would practice against the spinning ball. They will then have a warm-up game in Mumbai.

What next?

Warner has made his displeasure very clear, and it for the authorities to make note of such scheduling. This schedule does not allow the best players to showcase their skills across all formats.

Sportskeeda’s Take

In the current day and age, players pride themselves on performing across all formats and in all conditions. Thus robbing them of playing in different formats does not do justice to either the players or the audience who then do not get to see the best team on the field.