Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, starting October 16 in Australia, Team India have copped a huge blow as ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the showpiece tournament due to back injury.
Besides Bumrah, seamer Deepak Chahar is reportedly set to miss the upcoming T20 World Cup because of stiff back. Notably, Chahar was picked as one of standbys for the marquee event.
Moreover, other Indian players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have been battling with injuries for a while and have missed quite a few series this year.
Amid the injury concerns, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has come up with a radical suggestion, urging the BCCI president to give India’s star cricketers the option of resting during the IPL.
It is pertinent to mention here that Roger Binny, a pivotal member of India's 1983 World Cup-winning campaign, is all set to take over as BCCI's president on October 18, replacing former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
"With the volume of cricket that exists today, it's extremely important that you get the balance right of how much a player plays. When should he be rested? And there, a (BCCI) president can play a big role. Tomorrow, if a cricketer, for the sake of playing for India, needs to be rested in the IPL for a certain number of games, so be it. Where, a (BCCI) president has to sit with the franchise and explain that he's extremely important for India first, and then the franchise," Shastri told veteran journalist Ayaz Memon at a 'Meet-the-media programme' in Mumbai on Wednesday (October 12).
"Discussions can take place with the team management, as to which are the players who need rest, who, if they carry on in this fashion, will be spent forces. And then take that forward to the franchise. In no way getting in the way of the franchise, but in a nice way telling them that he's an important player for India. National interest is paramount," he added.
Shastri also expressed his concern at India's leading pacers breaking down repeatedly despite rehabilitating for long periods at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
"It was the most frustrating thing for me as (India coach), when you lose key players to injuries. We toured England and New Zealand twice. On all those tours, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was injured, where he'd have got a bagful of wickets with his skills. Now, you see Chahar has hardly played, and he's injured. I was looking at the stats, Bumrah has played 5 matches since the last T20 World Cup and he's injured. So, you've got to look at it very seriously, as to why it is happening," Shastri said.
(With TOI inputs)
