Hyderabad: The coronavirus pandemic has forced a halt on global sporting events and with cricket being one of the victim, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already begun to ponder over the possibility of change of rules once the game resumes in order to ensure safety of players, make up for the lost cricket, time and revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Likewise, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly planning to field two separate Indian teams in simultaneous series, once cricket resumes.
A BCCI official hinted at possibility of selecting two Indian squads for different formats.
According to him, this could be a potential way to recover the lost matches in cricket calendar due to COVID-19.
"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 BCCI official told a sports website on the condition of anonymity.
While India's three-match ODI series against South Africa was cancelled in March due to coronavirus pandemic, many other international tours with addition to the 13th edition of Indian Premier League have also been postponed indefinitely due to which BCCI has also suffered huge losses and the board might consider the 'unique option' going ahead.
According to the report, the idea has also been discussed with the Indian coaching staff, who is looking forward to get two squads ready for the upcoming calendar.
If the idea gets a nod, BCCI will become the second cricket board to field two separate teams after Cricket Australia.
In February 2017, Australia played two international series simultaneously. Steve Smith was leading the Test Team in India while Aaron Finch led Australia in three T20Is against Sri Lanka on home soil. Darren Lehmann, the former Australia coach, was in India with the Test team, while Justin Langer was given the charge to coach the T20I side.
