Michael Vaughan, former England captain has suggested a ‘simple solution’ to the alleged BCCI request for rescheduling of their upcoming Test series against India in August.
As per reports, BCCI had informal discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to rearrange the start and end of their five-match Test series so that it can use the available window to finish the remainder of IPL 2021.IPL 2021 was suspended earlier this month after the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the team bubbles.
Michael Vaughan: India Should Allow Its Fringe Test Players To Participate In The Hundred
The Indian cricket board has since been brainstorming for ways to get the season completed which if not done, will result in them taking a massive financial hit.
The Test series is scheduled to start from August 4 but as per several media reports, BCCI wanted ECB to reschedule the fifth Test in Manchester from the second week of September to July fourth week. However, that will end up affecting ECB’s own domestic schedule including the inaugural season of The Hundred.
Should ECB accept BCCI’s request, it will also put in jeopardy the availability of England Test stars for The Hundred. However, Michael Vaughan has suggested that in lieu of rearranging the Test series, India should allow its fringe Test players to participate in The Hundred.
“Simple solution .. Play the First Indian Test a week earlier .. No England Test players would then potentially play the 100 so Fringe Indian Test players replace them .. Then the IPL can finish .. Good deal all round ..” he said.
https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1395425534272737286?s=20
However, this would require a major shift in BCCI policy of not allowing its players to take part in foreign leagues unless they have announced retirement. Meanwhile, as per Cricbuzz, ECB has denied they have received any such request from BCCI and the India-England Test series will go ahead as per the original schedule.
Michael Vaughan Wants The 1st Test A Week Earlier
The five-Test series starts with the first match at Nottingham (Aug-4-8), followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth Tests at Lord’s (Aug 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6) and Manchester (Sep 10-14). IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely at the start of the month due to several cases of Covid-19 reported among the players and support staff.
Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan has said that if the teams play the first Test a week earlier than the scheduled date, then both the Test series and the IPL can be happily staged.
The series is originally scheduled to start on August 04 in Nottingham and finish on September 15 at Old Trafford. Should the series end in the first week of September, it will BCCI a clear three-week window to complete the IPL. However, the move will heavily jeopardize ECB’s domestic scheduling as it is set to host the inaugural season of the Hundred between July 21-August 21.