The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League begins with a blockbuster opening clash between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings on Friday. The Hardik Pandya-led Titans lifted the 2022 title and face a daunting ask of retaining the title; CSK, meanwhile, will be aiming at a stronger return to form in 2023 after a forgettable season last year. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side finished ninth in 2022 with only four wins in 14 matches.
This year, however, there have been significant concerns over the playing time for active India stars in the league. With the World Test Championship final merely weeks after the IPL and the ODI World Cup also scheduled for October-November later this year, captain Rohit Sharma had stressed on the need for workload management for Team India players ahead of the tournament.
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“It’s all upto the franchises. The franchises own them [the players] now, so we’ve given some indications or some kind of borderline kind of thing to the teams. But at the end of the day it’s up to the franchise and, most importantly it’s the players you know, they have to take care of their own body,” Rohit had said following India’s last match before the IPL earlier this month (against Australia in the ODI series).
“They [players] are all adults. So they have to look after their body and just if they feel that it’s 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,” he had further added.
However, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t quite agree with the India captain. During a pre-season show on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar was asked whether Hardik Pandya might need to keep a check on his bowling exertion – keeping in mind the World Cup later this year – and the former India star had an interesting response.
“IPL’s success is largely dependent on players’ fitness, and that everyone plays to their best potential. Fans love this tournament, it’s quite popular, so, I’m not a fan of players resting during the IPL so that they can play the World Cup. Because, see, the players can get injured even during international matches. Anything can happen,” Manjrekar said.
“There should be no restrictions on players in IPL. Owners spend money on them and they should have the freedom to use a player as much as they want. IPL should be given a special status in that regard,” he added.
Rishabh Pant is already out of the action for a large part of the calendar as he continues his recovery from a car crash last December; Jasprit Bumrah will also miss the IPL with a back injury, while batter Shreyas Iyer is out for the initial phase of the tournament with back concerns as well.
