Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023) is all set to start from 31 March. Earlier, there was a lot of debate about the fitness and workload management of Team India players. The reason for this is the World Test Championship Final (WTC Final) and the ODI World Cup, which is to be held in India later this year, along with a lot of injuries to the players in the past. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked the franchises not to put too much burden on the contracted players of Team India ahead of the season, so that they do not get tired and are ready for the final of the World Test Championship in England.
This was the message delivered by physiotherapist Nitin Patel at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and team India’s strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai during a Zoom meeting with the trainers and physiotherapists of each of the Indian Premier League franchises. The BCCI is very concerned about the bowlers in the shortlisted 20 players for the World Cup 2023 and wants that no one else gets injured. The board is keeping an eye on 12 bowlers and all these bowlers will not get much practice in the nets.
Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans), Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders), Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings), Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals), Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal ( Rajasthan Royals), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Washington Sundar (Sunrisers Hyderabad) are being monitored. The NCA has already shared the workload monitoring report of each Indian player with their respective franchises.
“Franchises have been told that the Indian team bowlers should be especially used with caution. IPL teams should not over-bowl them in the nets. They can focus more on strengthening and training. Players can do fielding drills but till the first week of May, franchises shouldn’t push them. After May first week, those players who are in contention can slowly increase their bowling time in the nets. The BCCI will get in touch with all franchises again,” a BCCI official said.