BCCI instructs franchises not to over-bowl WTC final and World Cup-bound players

Add as a preferred source on Google

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to take special care and not to over-bowl contacted players in the lead up to the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the World Cup 2023.

According to a report by Indian Express, the message was conveyed during a Zoom meeting conducted by National Cricket Academy (NCA) physiotherapist Nitin Patel and Team India's strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai to trainers and physiotherapists of each of the team IPL franchises.

The report added that the BCCI is also concerned about the bowlers among the 20 shortlisted players for the ICC World Cup 2023 to be held in India during October-November. The board basically wants the franchises to ensure that there are no major injury setbacks.

Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans), Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders), Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings), Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals), Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Washington Sundar (Sunrisers Hyderabad) are among the list of bowlers BCCI is keeping an eye.

Earlier, the NCA had shared the workload monitoring report of each India player with their respective franchises and had asked them to use it as a guide for their reference. Notably, the WTC final will be held from June 7 in London.

“Franchises have been told that the Indian team bowlers should be especially used with caution. IPL teams should not over-bowl them in the nets. They can focus more on strengthening and training. Players can do fielding drills but till the first week of May, franchises shouldn’t push them. After May first week, those players who are in contention can slowly increase their bowling time in the nets. The BCCI will get in touch with all franchises again,” a BCCI official said.

The sixteenth edition of the IPL begins on March 31 with defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) taking on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.