BCCI forces West Indies team to train in Dubai

The West Indies team, set to tour India later this month, has been resorted to training in the United Arab Emirates after the BCCI refused to grant them facilities in the country for preparation.

Speaking to the Times of India, West Indies coach Stuart Law lamented the move, stating that it would have been more convenient for the Windies side to train in India, where they were initially supposed to land in by September 10.

“We tried to get to India but we were told that there weren’t any places available for us. It would have been nice to be in India. There would have been less travel,” Law said.

“The ICC Global Academy said they have cricket going on and thus offered us to come over here. But what you have to take we have got. We are enjoying ourselves,” he added.

BCCI defended the move by claiming that the packed domestic schedule for the lack of accommodation: “We have so many teams this season. To accommodate them at a time when the domestic season has got underway would always be difficult”.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy is currently underway and the 37-team tournament has around 11-12 matches going on every day. The tournament coincides with part of West Indies' tour - the domestic competition goes on until October 20, while the India series starts on the fourth of the same month.

Speaking about the camp itself, Law said that the motive behind it is to acclimatize the players to the longer format, especially since most of them are returning from playing the T20 format in the Carribean Premier League.

“The players are just back from CPL. The camp is to get them back into the red-ball mode and get used to the heat. It’s very hard to keep the boys together as they live on different islands. We need a window," Law was quoted as saying.