Last Updated: January 23, 2023, 7:43 p.m
(From left) Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour and Rohit Sharma. (AP Photo)
The BCCI will be monitoring the workload of key India players during the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League
India batting coach Rahul Dravid says that while Indian Premier League is a key tournament in helping players get ready for international events but not at the cost of their fitness. The spate of injuries to leading Indian cricketers in the past year or so have raised an important question: Are Indian players overworked?
It’s not a trend that’s exclusive to Indian cricket but players across the world have raised concerns over a packed cricket calendar forcing them to pick and choose with few even giving up their national contracts to prefer T20 leagues.
Also Read: Kohli First Cricketer in History to Feature in ICC Test, T20I And ODI Team of The Year
2023 is the year of the ODI World Cup and therefore it’s vital to ensure for each team that their first-choice stars are peaking at the right moment and more importantly, remain injury free.
However, Dravid said it doesn’t mean that the key players (read world cup probables) will skip IPL.
“Workload management is something that is a part and parcel of the game today,” Dravid said on Monday. “We keep reviewing these things. You will call the break we have given to some of our boys (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul) in the T20 series as workload management.”
The likes of Virat, Rohit and Rahul haven’t featured in T20I cricket for India since the world cup last year.
“Injury management and workload management are two different things, we have to keep balancing the two based on what the priority is for us in the short term considering the amount of cricket we play and ensuring that we have our big players available for us in the big tournaments,” Dravid said.
Also Read: ‘WIPL Will Open up Opportunities, People Will Watch More of Women’s Cricket’
He adds that the board has the right to withdraw any player from IPL should they spot any injury concern.
“In terms of the IPL, the NCA and our medical team is constantly in touch with the franchises, and if there are any issues or injuries we connect with them. Unless the players are injured or there are other concerns then of course I think the BCCI has the right to pull them out,” Dravid said.
He continued, “But if they are fit we do release them for the IPL because it’s an important tournament. It is a very big tournament for the BCCI, in terms of our preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. It is important as it helps us assist the performances of our players in the specific T20 format.”
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here