Injuries a bad sign for India ahead of WTC final
K L Rahul’s absence will be a blow to India at the World Test Championships final starting on June 7. Add to this the indifferent form of Rohit Sharma during the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (it is dangerous to draw a parallel between Test cricket and T20). Add to this the already injury-enforced absences of Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, so it’s obvious that the Indian think tank will be scratching their heads. Four First-XI players have already experienced English conditions but will miss the final against Australia. There are more cricketers in the sick bay. Pacer Umesh Yadav is nursing a hamstring injury. Shardul Thakur, the red-ball team’s primary bowling all-rounder in overseas conditions, too, has had niggles and missed a few matches for Kolkata. Jaydev Unadkat has hurt his shoulder and is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has named reserves and said that Umesh and Unadkat’s injuries are being monitored closely, and a decision will be taken later. They have named Ishan Kishan a replacement for K L Rahul, with Ajinkya Rahane, not named in the original 15, as a replacement for Iyer. Rahane is all set to play in his first Test in almost 18 months. Except for Cheteshwar Pujara, practically all named in the WTC squad play in the IPL. Signs were ominous even before the IPL. Top cricketers representing the country in at least two formats are already playing much more than they used to a decade ago. India captain Sharma and the BCCI sensed a possible physical breakdown, spoke about workload management, and urged the franchises to be discreet with players in the WTC. Ostensibly so, this brings us to the fundamental question—should franchises put the interests of the team or the country first?
As the IPL gets longer and more competitive, players are playing more. With clubs paying you and owning you for three-odd months, they are bound to decide on your availability. No matter what purists believe, in the future, franchises are expected to have a more significant say in managing players, more so if the format gets longer and more money is involved. Perhaps it’s time for BCCI to rethink their policies and strategies to protect players from burnout.