IPL 2024: Seeing Injuries That We Never Used To See: Surgeon Who Operated On Sachin Tendulkar Warns Players Against Playing IPL

A leading knee surgeon from the United Kingdom has warned England cricketers especially fast bowlers from playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  Andy Williams, the doctor, has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to urgently sort the matter out to prevent the pacers from sustaining injuries.

England have suffered a fast-bowlers crisis in recent times. During this year’s IPL, Reece Topley suffered a shoulder injury on his debut while Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer also struggled with their fitness. At present, Archer is sidelined with a recurring stress fracture to his right elbow while Stokes has been suffering from a chronic knee problem.

And Williams believes the IPL is responsible for causing more preventable injuries than ever. Williams is one of the most popular and trusted knee surgeons in the UK. According to Daily Mail, he was used by 18 of the 20 Premier League football clubs last season. And recently, he performed surgery on England allrounder Chris Woakes too. Legendary Sachin Tendulkar has used his services too in the past.

Knee surgeon’s IPL warning for England players:

In recent years, the surgeon has noticed a recurrence of overload injuries and he believes IPL has played a big role in it. He has said that the governing bodies should urgently tackle the issue of the players’ workload due to the expanding T20 leagues across the world.

“Cricket is a nightmare. Since the IPL, cricketers can earn a good living. The top ones get just two weeks off a year from not playing cricket which is unbelievable. So I’m seeing injuries now that we never used to see in cricket, in particular with bowlers.

“We’re seeing overload where the body can’t heal itself in time. It’s only the top players because they get so much exposure to play,” Williams told the news outlet.

“To bowl quick, your front leg when you strike has to be jammed straight. As you jam it straight, the front of the femur hits the tibia. In that moment, the tibia keeps knocking the femur which creates a little hole. The ACL also gets slightly pulled. The scenario of overload wears bits out.

“There’s probably about 20 cricketers a season I keep seeing with recurring problems related to playing too much. These are the top elite cricketers (in the world). We’re going to have to learn how to manage it. It never used to happen, but it is now a recurring problem,” he added.

In recent years, several overseas players have pulled out of the tournament for various reasons. And it won’t be surprising if more and more players decide against playing in the tournament every year to avoid fatigue and career-threatening injuries.