The Indian team, led by Virat Kohli had played their last international match in New Zealand on March 2, the second Test match which they lost by seven wickets. The team had no idea that this would be their last match for the national side for quite some time. There was a three-match ODI series against South Africa which was to be followed by the glamorous Indian Premier League.
The first ODI was called off due to rain at Dharamshala and the next two matches were suspended due to Covid-19. As expected, the cancellation of IPL was spread all over the cricket news outlets across the globe. The big players who are used to all the fame and they are mostly mobbed whenever they are seen in public, were asked to sit at home.
No training and no matches must have been difficult for the players, who have always followed this routine for the major part of their professional career. The Indian team has one of the most hectic International schedules but this change must have come out as a blue for everyone.
It has been almost three months since players have been deprived of any training and match.
While announcing the lockdown guidelines for the fourth phase, the Ministry of Home Affairs has given a nod to re-opening the stadiums across the country, which has given a new ray of hope to sporting events across the world and primarily cricket betting odds in India.
Slowly but surely things are getting back into place and we all expect some cricket action in the coming days. However, the BCCI has confirmed that they are going to take one step at a time and they will not hurry into anything amid the health crisis.
BCCI has come up with a four-stage training program:
Stage 1: During the complete lockdown, each centrally contracted cricketer was presented with a set of questionnaires to understand the facilities accessible to them.
Stage 2: Once some restrictions are lifted, depending on how much movement is allowed in various states, players will be taken to local stadiums and skill-wise training sessions will get underway.
Stage 3: When normality resumes, plans are being put into place to allow for the safe movement of players between states to specific centers for skill-based training.
Stage 4: Once the action gets underway, BCCI wants each player to be mentally and physically ready.
Hence, the players are expected to begin their training process. The players who are in green zone areas can begin training however players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who are currently residing in Mumbai will need to wait for more.
Meanwhile, the ICC has come up with new guidelines that need to be followed by cricket boards. A medical officer will accompany the team when they start training. Covid-19 Test will be held before the practice and the series to make sure every player in the team is virus-free. The players will be asked to maintain social distancing while training and they should make any unnecessary contact with each other. Thus, no on-field celebrations would be seen during the Covid-19 era. The team will also need to quarantine themselves for 14 days in hotels before the start of the tour.
On the other hand, India has always known to receive a ton of crowd support wherever they play. The crowd is often deemed as the 12th man of the Indian side and they always back them to hilt. The crowd support has its own advantages and they can spur a spark in the players, to bring out their best.
However, there is no doubt that the cricketers will be greeted by empty stadiums when they will return to action. The International players are used to playing in front of a jam-packed crowd and it is going to be a different feeling altogether. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that it will be like playing in the Indian domestic circuit, where there is hardly any crowd and it is going to take many players to their formative years in their career.
There is no doubt that the BCCI will make sure that all the precautionary measures are well taken care of before the players get back to training. Sri Lanka has invited India for three ODIs and as many T20Is and the tour can be on if the Indian board gets the nod from the government if it lifts the travel restrictions.
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