Reports: Top Indian cricketers complain to BCCI after flight delay prevents them from getting enough sleep ahead of West Indies ODIs

After the completion of the Test series against West Indies, Indian cricketers who are part of the ODI team were scheduled to travel to Barbados on Monday night itself. Even though Day 5 of the second Test was called off due to rain, the players were tired, as they followed a proper routine in order to stay fit for international cricket. Despite knowing that, BCCI arranged tickets for them at 11 pm, which later got delayed to 3 am, making the cricketers lose their calm.

As per reports, the cricketers complained of being sleep-deprived and couldn’t train properly ahead of the ODI series, which is slated to begin on Thursday, July 27. They have also written a letter to the top officials of BCCI, following which, the board has decided not to arrange any flight at midnight and will be taking better care of the travel in the future.

“They had left the hotel by 8:40 pm for the airport and had to wait for a long time at the airport. The team management has requested us to book a morning flight instead of late-night flights as players want some rest post-game. The BCCI has agreed to it and is planning to revise the next schedule,” a source in the BCCI was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Indian players who are to play in ODI series have already reached Barbados

On the other hand, vice-captain Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Umran Malik have already reached Barbados a couple of days earlier, in order to get accustomed to the conditions. Notably with the ODI World Cup set to begin in little more than just two months' time, players will be trying to prove a point in order to seal their place in the tournament.

Notably, the first two ODIs are slated to take place in Barbados before the players travel to Trinidad for the final ODI, which is slated to take place on August 1. Team India would be hoping to win the series in order to add another feather to their cap of records and achievements against the home side.