Team India head coach Rahul Dravid recently stated that IPL plays an important role in helping players get ready for international events but not at the cost of their fitness as the increase in the number of injuries to Indian players in the past few years have raised many questions. With the World Cup not very far, every team will try to minimize the injury number in their side. This includes managing the workload of the players too.
Talking on this matter, Dravid said, “Workload management is something that is a part and parcel of the game today. 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.”
“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,” He added.
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He also added that the BCCI has the right to withdraw any player from the IPL if 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.”