News

Pakistan unhappy with burgeoning schedule

Pakistan will officially voice its concerns over the increasing workload on international players

Osman Samiuddin
Osman Samiuddin
18-Aug-2005


The Afro-Asian Cup: yet another series in an already packed schedule © AFP
Pakistan will officially voice its concerns over the increasing workload on international players during the next ICC Executive Board Members meeting in Dubai later this month.
According to Saleem Altaf, a PCB director, one of the main issues to be discussed in Dubai will be whether to extend the current FTP (Future Tours Programme) cycle from five to six years.
Altaf told The News that Pakistan would like to see the cycle extended to six years, as the current schedule was too hectic, increasing the chances of injuries to players and reducing the amount of time between series for them to recover.
"We would like to see a more spread out programme which allows the team some reasonable gaps between the series so that the players can recover well," Altaf explained. Given the crippling spate of injuries Pakistan has had to endure over the last year, particularly to its fast bowlers, Altaf will have more reason than most to argue for a relaxation in the international schedule. Shoaib Akhtar (hamstring), Mohammad Sami (heel), Shabbir Ahmed (knees) and Umar Gul (back) have all missed a number of matches in the season just gone and have yet to play together in an international match.
His comments are also timely; Pakistan are preparing to begin a hectic season of international cricket from October, one of the busiest in recent memory with 13 Tests and potentially 25 ODIs between November 2005 and September 2006.
The season begins with England's visit for a series of three tests and five ODIs. After their departure at the end of December, Pakistan host India for another full series followed in swift succession by the Asia Cup in February, a tour of Sri Lanka in March-April followed by a long return tour to England during the summer. Some Pakistani players will also be involved in the Super Series matches between Australia and the Rest of the World XI in October.
The ICC meeting is being held days after the last of three ODIs of the much-maligned Afro-Asian Cup. The series, the brainchild of the Afro-Asian Council and given official status by the ICC, has been criticised by some for its timing, adding one more commitment - of questionable value - for many to an already cramped international schedule.
Partially, as a result of this, the tournament has been hit by a number of high-profile withdrawals; some like Makhaya Ntini and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan pulled out due to county commitments in England, while others such as Rahul Dravid cited personal reasons. The majority of pull-outs, however, are injury-related.
And despite the appearance of as many as five Pakistani players in the Asian XI, including skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and the injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar, the PCB had stated before the tournament began that it would not force any of its contracted players to participate.

Osman Samiuddin is the Pakistan editor of Cricinfo