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2022 is going to be a busy year for the Men in Blue with a jam-packed schedule. India started their year by playing South Africa for two Tests and then three ODIs. After that, they hosted West Indies for six white-ball games, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is. The Men in Blue will now host Sri Lanka for three T20Is and then two Tests which will go on till March 16. Post this series, India's T20 League will begin.
With two new teams coming in and the number of matches increasing, the Indian Premier League is expected to go on till the third week of May. All the Indian players will be busy representing their franchises for this two-and-a-half-month period. After that, the BCCI will host South Africa for 5 T20Is in June.
Post the South Africa series, India are scheduled to tour England to play the fifth Test from the 2021 tour. Both teams are also set to play six white-ball games (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is). And as reported by SportsTiger earlier, the Men in Blue will also play Ireland for a one-off T20I. This game can be played either after the England tour or before.
After the completion of the England tour, India will reportedly fly immediately to West Indies and then to Zimbabwe. The Men in Blue are also set to take part in the Asia Cup in the UAE in August and September.
Two different teams to be formed
As per a TOI report, the Indian team management and selectors have already started working on forming two different teams with a pool of around 35 players. This will help give mandatory breaks to players and also abide by the schedule. The report also claims that a second-string team will play Ireland as the match is set to overlap with the one-off Test in England. It further quotes a BCCI official claiming that a depleted side is set to tour Zimbabwe.
"The discussions on bio-bubble breaks have already started. Every player has been communicated about the busy itinerary. They have been given time to think about when they would like to take a break. It's likely a depleted side will travel to Zimbabwe. Ideally, the Asia Cup will be the right tournament to play the first team, in order to get combinations right before the T20 World Cup," a BCCI official was quoted saying by TOI.
Notably, the BCCI is scheduling so many series to fulfil its commitment to help member nations generate revenues for their own boards.