Enough is enough

Virender Sehwag's comments on player burnout have brought the Indians' views on the amount of cricket they play into the public domain.

The comments could turn out to be a watershed in the dispute. Senior administrators across the world have argued that rather than fewer games, some countries' players actually wanted more. The Indian side was cited as an example of such a side on several occasions, but Sehwag's comments indicate that is not the case, and back remarks made by cricketers from other countries.

And the Indian board's response that it will address the issue once the current arrangements have been fulfilled is at odds with their seeming desire to play lucrative one-day tournaments whenever there is a gap in the ICC's Future Tours Programme. Last month, they had no sooner finished a gruelling three Test, seven ODI series against England than they were in Abu Dhabi playing two more one-dayers.

It is only a month ago that the BCCI signed a US$219 million five-year deal with Zee Sports for broadcast rights for all India's "home" matches played outside the country. Venues such as Abu Dhabi, London, Malaysia and Canada were discussed, but it is inconceivable that this will be limited to a handful of matches each year. All such games are outside the FTP and, as such, will need to be squeezed into gaps in an already crammed schedule.

And only last Tuesday, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI's president, announced that the national side would play an annual game to "raising money for Olympic disciplines". Yes, it's only one game. But add it to all the other mini series and one-offs, and it becomes a burden that achieves little other than swell the board's - and occasionally a charity or two's - coffers and leaves the players shattered.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, recently told Cricinfo that the boards had to recognise their responsibilities in scheduling. "The ICC recognizes the need for members to look to maximize their revenue in order to grow the game," he said, "but, at the same time, they have to be mindful that the players are their prime assets and overworking them would benefit no one in the long run." Privately, the ICC is thought to be annoyed that it is in the firing line for accelerating player burnout, when it feels that it is the boards and their extra money-spinning matches that are largely to blame.

The murmurings can no longer be ignored, nor can the increasing indifference of the public in a number of countries to out-of-season matches and a cycle of never-ending series and tournaments. The players are beginning to say "enough" and theirs are voices that the administrators will ignore at their peril.