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Mumbai, August 19: The Indian cricket team will have the opportunity to play a few more ODIs in January-February, 2007 at home in the run-up to the World Cup in the West Indies following BCCI'S decision to play two bilateral series instead of one tri-nation rubber.
"We have decided to hold two bilateral series, consisting of eight to ten matches, against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, in January-February instead of the previously planned triangular series to give all the teams' players chance to play more ODIs before the World Cup," Board Secretary Niranjan Shah said today.
Shah said this decision made more sense as all the three competing nations could play more matches during the same period and fine tune themselves before cricket's show piece in the West Indies.
"Our tour of South Africa (for Tests and ODIs) ends on January 7, 2007 and we plan to give the players 10 or 15 days' rest and then engage either the West Indies or Sri Lanka in the first of the two proposed trianglar series," he indicated.
Shah said the idea was to finish off the two rubbers, at least one of which would be a five-game affair, by the 17th or 18th of February to give the players time to recover and then get set for the March 13-April 28 World Cup.
"This sort of schedule will also give breaks between the two rubbers besides providing the players 10 or 15 days' rest period at the end before departing to the West Indies for the World Cup," the BCCI official said.
"We may also try out 20 or 22 players, who would have been selected by then in a preliminary list of players as per the ICC guidelines, in the two bilateral series," he added. (Agencies)
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