IPL 2020: CA working along with RR to ensure Smith's swift return after concussion break 

The Royals captain had missed the entire ODI series against England in the UK.

By Kashish Chadha - 18 Sep, 2020

After missing the entire ODI series in UK against England due to concussion scare, Steve Smith will be returning to the field and lead Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), starting September 19. 

Cricket Australia (CA), however, isn't leaving its best batsman on his own still and is working with the Royals franchise to ensure Smith is able to fully recover from the head blow. 

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The 31-year-old, who suffered the blow while batting in the nets ahead of the first one-dayer in Manchester, has been asked to continue following concussion protocols despite flying across to UAE, something CA has been in communication with RR team management over. 

”Cricket Australia has strict protocols when it comes to head impacts and concussions and, as we’ve seen over the last 12 months, we’re not willing to compromise on those,” CA’s head of sports science Alex Kountouris said in a statement.

”Steve is making progress and working with our medical team through the concussion protocols required to return to play."

Smith will have a bit more time to recover as he goes through necessary six-day quarantine amid COVID-19 pandemic in Abu Dhabi having arrived late night Thursday. 

The regulation will force Smith, as well as other of Royals' first-choice overseas players such as Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, to miss their opening game on September 22 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Sharjah. 

Smith had gone down with concussion even last year during the Ashes 2019 and so, CA doesn't want to take any chance. 

”The conservative management of Steve through this injury is consistent with our approach to put the player’s welfare first, as we did with him during the Ashes last year,” Kountouris said.

”We are striving to create environments where players trust that our medical team will always put their welfare first and therefore speak openly with them, whether this is about concussion, other injuries or mental health."  

Kountouris, a former physio himself, said lengthy research has gone into studying concussion and its effects. 

"We have done a lot of research over the last few years to better understand head impacts and concussions specific to cricket, and that has helped up in how we manage our players," he said. 

”We place the welfare of the player before the game because we strongly believe that is what’s best for the player."

(Inputs from PTI)

By Kashish Chadha - 18 Sep, 2020

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