India in Belfast (PC: BCCI) India’s shocking 2-0 loss in the T20I series against Ireland has highlighted a prominent challenge that often goes unnoticed in international cricket. The issue of players not getting time to acclimatise to the overseas conditions. The Indian team players went to Ireland after the IPL.

The team arrived in Belfast on June 24, had their training session the next day and then they were facing Ireland on June 26. While India’s bowlers did not disappoint with their performances, the batting show did reflect those challenges. Wickets fell at regular intervals in both the matches and while vice-captain Tilak Varma did score a half-century in the second game, batting overall has been underwhelming.

Abhishek Sharma scored 49 in the first game but fell for a duck in the second. Sanju Samson scored five and a golden duck in the two matches. The pitches in Belfast offered lateral movement.

Also, they were a bit damp because of the weather conditions. The bounce wasn’t predictable. It’s difficult to get adjusted to such conditions after just one nets session.

Then again, this is not only India’s problem. The way the modern-day cricket calendar is, no team gets adequate time to acclimatise to the conditions before a bilateral series. It’s up to the players to adapt quickly.

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