India’s white ball and red ball teams could be asked to play on the same day with two separate squads to recover lost time in the cricketing calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Sportstar reported.
All cricketing activities have been suspended since March and the Board of Control for Cricket in India Treasurer Arun Dhumal, earlier in the day, stated that they stand to lose upto Rs 4,000 crore if the Indian Premier League doesn’t take place this year. The T20 World Cup in Australia is also in doubt and so is India’s tour Down Under scheduled towards the end of the year.
“None of us know when sport, especially international cricket will resume. But if we have to safeguard all our stakeholders – from sponsors to spectators – one of the options is to select two different squads and play a Test series and a T20I series simultaneously,” a Board of Control for Cricket in India official was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
The report added that BCCI’s top brass has run the idea with the coaching staff and the members are considering getting two competitive squads ready if the broadcasters suggest shoehorning multiple matches in a short window.
Australia had played a T20I against Sri Lanka and a Test match against India on consecutive days in February 2017. The Australians had fielded two different sides as the T20I was played in Adelaide while Steve Smith and Co were playing the Border-Gavaskar series in Pune.