Ian Chappell slams ICC, asks apex body to review its 'unworkable' schedule

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes that the international cricket schedule has to be thoroughly reviewed in order to avoid the ongoing "mess" in the future. The COVID pandemic, according to Chappell's latest column for ESPNcricinfo, has revealed the ICC's and cricket-playing nations' inadequate scheduling of international cricket. Chappell feels the only beneficial outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is a reassessment of the international cricketing schedule, which is required to avoid repeated disruptions in the cricket calendar.

'ICC schedule is like Jarlsberg cheese'

Chappell went on to compare the international cricketing schedule to "Jarlsberg cheese", which has holes in it. Chappell's latest article slamming the ICC has come after the recently affected tours of New Zealand and England to Pakistan. Earlier this month, the New Zealand Cricket abruptly pulled out of the Pakistan series citing security concerns. England followed suit and cancelled its planned bilateral series against the Men in Green owing to unrest in the region. 

Chappell acknowledged the hardships that come with playing cricket during the unprecedented COVID times, however, he criticised New Zealand and England for cancelling their bilateral series against Pakistan. Chappell said Pakistan toured other countries to support their boards during the COVID-19 pandemic but the response they received from those sides was "excessively harsh". 

India dropped out of the planned fifth Test match against England earlier this month, citing a COVID-19 outbreak within the camp as the reason. The fifth match had to be cancelled, resulting in significant losses for the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Lancashire Cricket Club, where the game was to be played. Several other boards have felt the ire of the COVID-19 disruptions, including South Africa, Australia, West Indies, Afghanistan, etc. Chappell is not the person to point out the flaws in the ICC's international cricketing schedule as multiple experts and former cricketers have raised the issue in the past. 

(Image: PTI)