Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said that skipping matches during IPL 2019 is not the solution for managing players’ workload ahead of the upcoming World Cup in England.
Ganguly is the latest among many to suggest that there cannot be a set rule for deciding how many matches each World Cup-bound player takes part in during the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.
There have been growing concerns that Indian cricketers, who had a relentless international schedule over the past few months, may get fatigued during the T20 tournament.
The IPL requires cricketers to play matches and travel constantly for close to two months, and the worry is that this may exhaust the players ahead of the all-important World Cup starting on May 30.
Over the past few weeks, many important voices in Indian cricket have weighed in on this issue. And the overwhelming opinion has been that it’s each player’s responsibility to manage his workload during the IPL.
Here are some of the views on this matter:
Sourav Ganguly
“Yes, there is a lot of cricket but you just play. How many cricketers get to play 15-16 years of international cricket? I don’t think anyone should worry about being fatigued, being tired. Just find a way to get fresh. I have always said there is limited time to play this sport. Getting opportunities at the international level, at the IPL level, this will never come back, so find a way to get rest, find a way to stay fresh and keep playing.
“Not playing is not the solution, even our generation played a lot of cricket. Yes IPL was not there as it came towards the end of our career but, cricket-wise, it was same. I keep saying that before you realise, you will see 10-12 years have just flown away. Just make the most of it and play every possible cricket match you can.
“The decision should be left to the players. It’s their career, you play at the top level consistently and you can get injured. And there is no guarantee that when you play for the country you won’t get injured. So there is no hard and fast rule. I believe in one thing, as a player, when you get an opportunity, play, never say I don’t want to play.”
“If your team is in a great position during the tournament, you don’t mind taking 2-3 games off also. It all depends on how you feel physically but everyone has to be really honest about it to themselves and accordingly see how they feel and not push themselves to the limit that might hamper the Indian team later on. The amount you practice, with the amount of travel during the IPL and the number of games in different conditions, in different temperatures, it is going to be challenging, to be honest.
“I would look to continue in the same way that I have in all formats over the years and not do anything fancy. Frame of mind is the most important thing getting into the World Cup, and we need 15 people who are confident and mentally happy.”
“To me, momentum is important. Every individual should be smart enough to assess if he needs to take a break or he needs to play games to stay in the thick of things. So the responsibility is on the individual to take a call.
“As a pace bowler, Jasprit Bumrah’s workload will be very different from a pure batsman like Virat Kohli and a wicket-keeper batsman like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. All these players have a lot of experience and they will certainly make the right call.”
“That’s there in our minds. It will come into play after the first half of IPL, six-seven matches then we can know how we can approach the second half of IPL and what we need to do to remain fit for the World Cup. We’ll look after (our fitness) in the second half of IPL.
“There isn’t a surety for anything. Yes there is something which is on mind, if I feel that I am tired, then we can take rest. So of course it up to the franchise. I am sure they will cooperate with each and every player because WC is a very important thing for us and BCCI may also talk to them.”
“We’ve been in touch with the BCCI and CoA in this regard. We have certain plans in place and we’ll be looking to follow them. Usually, the two months of IPL are seen as relatively free months for me and I can just sit down and enjoy the cricket, watch out for new, young talents that keep emerging.
“But this IPL will be about monitoring the players, keeping the World Cup in mind. There’s a lot coming up and you’ll see the right measures being taken. The trainer, physios, assistant coaches, the captain, me – we’re all in touch with the Board to make this work.”
“I have a different view on the IPL. It is an Indian international tournament which offers so many complex pressure situations. Rather than just sitting and training you will have to go through so many pressure situations – be it bowling or batting or fielding. The IPL offers [such a] competitive atmosphere. If you see the example of 2013 Champions Trophy or a 2017 Champions Trophy we did extremely well because prior to that we played IPL. So this IPL is only going to help the players by preparing them for these pressure situations which otherwise normal bilateral series will not offer.
“So I feel there is nothing wrong in playing IPL.... It’s just the four overs (for the bowlers). What is more important is that other than those four overs how they keep themselves fit is very much important. But this IPL is only going to help the Indian players get in right frame of mind for the World Cup.”
Kapil Dev
“We all have workload. We are making a big issue out of it. What is workload? Mehnat karni hai na? Kya aap mehnat bhi nahin karoge? [Doesn’t one even want to work hard?]”