India had only five days gap between Australia T20I series and first Test vs South Africa.
Captain Shubman Gill has voiced concerns about the busy cricket schedule as India prepare to lock horns against New Zealand in an upcoming white-ball series, including three ODIs and five T20Is. The first of the three-match ODI series is scheduled for Sunday, January 11, at BCA Stadium in Vadodara.
India suffered a whitewash in the home Test series against reigning World Champions South Africa last month. Following the defeats, India ODI & Test captain Gill suggested a couple of things to the BCCI for future scheduling, stressing the need for sufficient breaks before any Test series. The Indian captain noted the difficulties of adjusting to white-ball cricket from red-ball and vice versa.
“In the last two Test series, we didn’t have enough time to prepare,” Gill said. “It’s not easy playing in another country and then in India on the fourth day. Preparation is really important if we want to win Tests across the globe, and I don’t think we had that time when we came back from Australia or after the Asia Cup before the West Indies series. It’s important to have some preparation, especially when switching from white-ball to red-ball cricket.”
India clinched the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai on September 28, which was followed by a Test series against the West Indies starting October 2. Likewise, the T20Is in Australia ended on November 8, with the Test against South Africa beginning on November 14, revealing India’s preparation was subpar.
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Shubman Gill believes that a less demanding schedule would be better than constantly rotating players. He proposed allowing 10 to 12 days for recovery and confidence-building after travel.
“Preparation is incredibly important to me,” Gill stressed. “I think we’ll take some action and we’ll keep it in mind to be able to prepare well before the start of any red-ball series. I don’t think in 2016, 2017, 2018, there was a time when if you’re coming from another country [back] to India, you’re playing a match on the fourth day.”
Even though India recently had a 22-day international break, the planning still seems unbalanced. This issue led to Gill’s own neck injury during the first Test against South Africa, which forced him to miss the ODI series. He failed to pick up the momentum from where he left off, managing only 32 runs in three innings at an average of 10.66 and a poor strike rate of 103.22. This resulted in him losing his place on the T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
Gill’s experience of playing across formats highlights broader concerns about player fatigue. As New Zealand arrive for the white-ball series, his remarks show that he focuses on improving on India’s recent Test performances, especially when India’s home record was broken twice in 12 months after 12 years of being unbeatable. The BCCI must consider his words to prevent similar outcomes in their quest for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 final.
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