Former IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla backs Virat Kohli after Indian skipper raised concerns over tight scheduling

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla on Friday supported Indian skipper Virat Kohli after the latter raised concerns over the hectic scheduling of his team’s undertakings.

Virat Kohli railed against the scheduling of their tour of New Zealand on Thursday saying that cricketers are "getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium and playing straight".

And Rajeev Shukla concurred with the Indian skipper as the tour comes inside five days of a home series against the Aussies.

"I agree with Virat Kohli that calendar is too hectic. There should not be back to back matches and series as well. Players must get some rest and also enough time to get acclimatised," Shukla tweeted.

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The former IPL chairman also seemed to blame the ex-Committee of Administration (CoA) for the uncomfortable scheduling.

"CoA should have kept this in mind before finalising the schedule," Shukla said.

The men in blue are facing New Zealand in a five match T20I series from today after finishing up the three match ODI series against Australia on 19th January.

The 31-year-old stated that short turnaround is strenuous given the hectic international calendar.

"Well it's definitely getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium and playing straight. That's how compressed the game has become but I think this kind of travel and coming to a place, which is seven hours ahead of India time, is always difficult to adjust to immediately," Kohli said on the eve of the first T20 in Auckland.

He also hoped the scheduling difficulty will be "taken into consideration much more" in times to come.

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