The Indian squad will not be inconvenienced with a journey by road to Montego Bay from Jamaica as it would traverse the distance of 200 kms by air in only 25 minutes to play their tour-opening practice match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Friday.
"I can't understand what the fuss is all about. The team would fly out on May 15 from Jamaica, play the match the next day [against Jamaica] and then return on May 17 by air," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in response to reports from the West Indies on the issue.
"The home board always has a bigger say in chalking out the itinerary. We also have a say when we play a home series. There have been instances when visiting teams have expressed reservations over playing in some centres like Jamshedpur which are not directly connected by air. But we have insisted and got our way," Shah pointed out.
"It's not as if the captain [Rahul Dravid] and coach [Greg Chappell] of the team do not know the itinerary. They have been informed. Also what happened in Zimbabwe earlier has no relevance now. This is a new board set-up," he said.
India will play five one-day internationals and four Tests between May 18 and July 4.
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