IPL grind on for key players

PTI

Indore, January 23

Indian cricketers who are in the scheme of things for the ODI World Cup will compete in the IPL unless there are injury concerns, head coach Rahul Dravid said today.

According to the BCCI’s new policy, the workload of key players and seniors like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be monitored during this year’s IPL by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and the franchisees, in view of the 50-over World Cup that will be held in India in October-November.

“Workload management is something that is a part and parcel of the game today. We keep reviewing these things. You will call the break we have given to some of our boys (Rohit, Virat, KL Rahul) in the T20 series as workload management,” Dravid said during the media briefing ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand.

“Injury management and workload management are two different things… We have to keep balancing the two based on what the priority is for us in the short term, considering the amount of cricket we play, and ensuring that we have our big players available for us in the big tournaments,” he added.

He said that “targeted” players for the ODI World Cup will be playing the IPL as it will help them assess their T20 skills. “In terms of the IPL, the NCA and our medical team is constantly in touch with the franchises, and if there are any issues or injuries we connect with them,” Dravid explained. “Unless the players are injured or there are other concerns, then of course I think the BCCI has the right to pull them out. But if they are fit, we do release them for the IPL because it’s an important tournament.”