‘We have instructed our FTP persons’ – BCCI admits of planning better for upcoming FTP cycle

The Board of Control for Cricket in India held a review meeting on Thursday, September 3, to assess the team’s recent performances and chart the course for the next year. The gathering brought together India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, head coach Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman in his role as director of cricket at the Centre of Excellence, and other BCCI officials. Selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar was unable to participate, including through video conferencing.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia addressed the media after the meeting, emphasising the alignment across all wings of the board and the coordination between the men’s team coaching staff, the Centre of Excellence and other committees. The official stressed that the board was functioning smoothly despite the challenges posed by India’s recent tour results.

“Everybody is on the same page. BCCI is working in a very well like a well oiled engine,” Saikia told reporters after the meeting.

“There is proper coordination amongst all the wings of BCCI, whether it is women’s teams committees or their technical staff or their coaches, vis-a-vis the COE, vis-a-vis the Indian men’s team’s coaching staff and the head coach. There is no difficulty in the coordination, everything is moving in the right direction,” he added.

India’s recent tour of England proved challenging, with the team losing the T20I series 1-4 and the ODI series 1-2. The T20I series against Ireland earlier in the tour ended in a 0-2 defeat. These results prompted the BCCI to conduct a thorough review of the team’s overseas strategy and performance metrics.

Addressing the packed international calendar

The BCCI official acknowledged that the congested international calendar posed a significant challenge to player welfare and performance. With multiple formats and bilateral series scheduled throughout the year, the board recognised the need to restructure the Future Tours Programme to provide adequate recovery time and preparation opportunities.

“The only challenge which we are facing is that there are too many matches in the year and that is why in the next FTP we will do certain things, we will take certain measures.”

“We have instructed our FTP persons who will be meeting very soon in various international forums that our FTP should be in such a way it should be scheduled that there is proper rest for the players as well as some kind of acclimatisation or some kind of friendly matches before any major series in SENA countries (South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand),” he concluded.

Planning for the 2027 ODI World Cup

The meeting also focused on India’s roadmap for the 2027 ODI World Cup, with the board preparing a strategic plan to improve the team’s overseas performance. Officials discussed the lessons learned from the recent England and Ireland tour and outlined the measures that would be implemented over the next year.