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Xtra Time Web Desk: England Head Coach Chris Silverwood on Tuesday defended the rotation policy in place for the upcoming tour to India to help the players cope with the hectic schedule. The former Essex coach has asked the English fans to understand the rotation policy rather than criticizing it.  

Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood have been left out of the first two Tests and will be flying home following the conclusion of the Sri Lanka Tests. Jos Buttler will only play one Test, but Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns will all return.

England are due to play at least 17 Tests in 2011 while their white-ball commitments include the T20 World Cup in October and November. Management of the squad has been further complicated by the two Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments taking place within six months of each other, the second of which returns to its normal slot in April and May.

"It is not the world that we live in at the moment," said Silverwood, when asked to explain to fans why players can't be asked to be constantly available.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1354078769863143429&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecricketer.com%2FTopics%2Fengland%2Fchris_silverwood_defends_england_rotation_policy_supporters_india.html&siteScreenName=TheCricketerMag&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px "I believe in being proactive with looking after the players rather than waiting until there's a problem"

He added: "We've got to look after our people. We're spending a lot of time in hotels and bio-secure bubbles and it is not easy. It is good we're being proactive. I'm perfectly happy with the system at the moment.

"We've decided that we need to look after our players and I do believe we've been proactive. I would ask them to understand why we do what we do. It is in the best interest of each player and to get the most out of them, long-term."