India skipper Rohit Sharma said on Wednesday said that managing the workload of key Indian players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is up to the franchises.
Indian team management has given the IPL teams “some borderline indications” about player workload management, as per the skipper, but he is doubtful if the franchises will follow it. IPL 2023 starts from March 31 onwards, less than 10 days after the conclusion of India’s ODI series against Australia at home, which the latter has won by 2-1. The all-important ICC World Test Championship final starts from June 7 onwards, a little more than a week after the summit clash for the IPL trophy on May 28. The 50-over World Cup will also take place in India from October-November this year.
“I mean, it is all up to the franchises now. The franchises own them [the players] now, so we have given some indications or some kind of borderline kind of thing to the teams. But at the end of the day, it is up to the franchise and, most importantly it is the players you know, they have to take care of their own body,” Rohit said after the third ODI against Australia in Chennai.
“They [players] are all adults. So they have to look after their body and just if they feel that it is getting a little too much, they can always talk about it and have a break in one or two games. I doubt [if] that will happen but,” added the skipper.
The Indian team is currently dealing with a lot of injuries. Rishabh Pant is ruled out for this year after surviving a horrific car accident last year. Shreyas Iyer, the KKR skipper is also likely to miss the first half of IPL due to a recurring back injury that he first experienced immediately after the Bangladesh tour last year in December. The injury has troubled him since then, keeping him out of the NZ white-ball series at home, the 1st Test against Australia.