BCCI to Assess Workload Before Picking a Team

The senior Indian cricketers are playing continuously since the very beginning of 2021. From competing against Australia, then moving on to England, followed by Ipl in two phases and then against New Zealand, and lastly the ongoing T20 World Cup, Indian players hardly got time to rest with the overwhelming workload. Senior cricketers Virat Kohli, Jasprit Burmah, and the outgoing coach Ravi Shastri raised concerns about it. BCCI will now consider the workload of players among various remaining factors before selecting a team for a tournament from now on.

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Bubble fatigue is one of the huge reasons behind India's performance in the T20 World Cup. India might have won 3 matches out of 5, but all those 3 teams are Scotland, Afghanistan, and Namibia. Whereas India could not win a single match against strong competitions like Pakistan and New Zealand.

At the time when India was playing in the T20 World Cup, Kohli and Bumrah talked about how the exhaustion of switching from one bio-bubble to another without appropriate breaks was affecting them mentally. Now, the BCCI wants to avoid bubble and bubble fatigue to affect the mental health of the cricketers.

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According to a report in The Indian Express, Rahul Dravid, the newly-appointed head coach of the Indian cricket team had a talk about the cricketers' workload management with the Cricket Advisory Committee. He conversed on this during the time he appeared for his interview for the head coach.

An unnamed BCCI official said that BCCI will now take the decision on which players rests for a particular series.

The official said, "The BCCI will decide on which player needs to be rested depending on how much cricket is being played. We are aware of the fatigue issue. The player who has been rested will get his place back in the team even if the replacement does well."

After India's journey in the T20 World Cup, Ravi Shastri said, "I don't read too much into Virat's form. I don't care who the player is. If you put even Don Bradman in the bubble, his average will come down. Eventually, the bubble will burst."

Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah are among the senior Indian cricketers to rest for the upcoming New Zealand T20I series. Rohit Sharma will lead the team as the captain and KL Rahul is the vice- captain.