While the leading Indian cricketers are currently plying their trades in the 2023 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), head coach Rahul Dravid and other support staff members are set to assemble at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday (April 11) to start preparations for the World Test Championship final in June.
Team India will take on Australia in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in London from June 7-11.
With star players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant being injured, the Indian team has plenty of issues to address ahead of the big final.
“Dravid along with batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, fielding coach T Dilip and the other support staff will be meeting the NCA team headed by VVS Laxman to discuss various issues related to senior team,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Earlier this year, the BCCI said that the National Cricket Academy will work in tandem with the IPL franchises to monitor the workload of Indian players, especially pacers, shortlisted for the 50-over World Cup at home in October-November.
Considering the fact that the Indian team also qualified for the WTC final, the workload management became even more significant.
However, most of the IPL franchises have confirmed to PTI that there has been no written communication from the BCCI on workload management of fast bowlers during the cash-rich event.
If fully fit, the five pacers likely to feature in the WTC squad are Mohammad Shami (GT), Umesh Yadav (KKR), Mohammed Siraj (RCB), Shardul Thakur (KKR) and Jaydev Unadkat (LSG).
A prominent coach, who has been a support staff member of the Indian cricket team, acknowledged that it is a problem.
“If June 7 is the start of WTC final, currently all the Indian pacers need to bowl at least 200 deliveries (33 overs approximately) per week (7 days). That’s how you build the miles (in simple words stamina) in your legs,” the former coach told PTI.
“But in IPL, the main star bowlers would hardly come for each and every training session. You will mostly see them getting rest a day before the game as one day before that, there is travelling.
“The heavy travelling part actually can cause more injuries and hence they won’t be able to bowl in training,” he further said.
Meanwhile, news agency PTI also reported that veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane is in the reckoning for a place in the WTC squad as Shreyas Iyer is set to undergo back surgery.
Rahane was dropped from the Test side in 2022 but he had a decent Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season, in which he scored 600+ runs.
Iyer’s absence will vacate a slot in the middle-order and Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t set the stage on fire lately. It seems that Rahane, with nearly 5000 runs to his name from 82 Tests, gives that assurance even though he had a prolonged lean patch in the longest format before being axed from the team.
(With PTI Inputs)
