After India’s failure in T20I World Cup last year, the Indian selectors and BCCI developed a plan to play a core set of players regularly ahead of the forthcoming ODI World Cup 2023 so as to prepare a powerful squad for the tournament. However, injuries of key players have hampered this plan and BCCI is raising this issue with NCA.
Recently, Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IND vs AUS ODI series due to a recurring back injury. He is also expected to miss many games in IPL 2023. He returned to the field in the Test against Australia after missing the ODI series against New Zealand. However, his back injury returned and he was ousted once again.
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BCCI Raises Issue of Injury Management With NCA
At National Cricket Academy, there is a dedicated team that works on players’ fitness and helps them to recover and get fit from injuries. Now, due to frequent injuries of key players, BCCI is raising an issue with NCA over the matter. A BCCI source told the Times of India that such injuries have hampered the team’s preparation for ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
“How does one expect to play with a core group when the primary players are breaking down despite such thorough workload management? The issue is being raised with NCA. The team management and the selectors are back to creating a set of backup players now. There has to be someone accountable for this,” a source told TOI.
“There is a dedicated team that works on ‘return to play’ of players. These injuries that are happening now are serious ones. They would require a lot of time to recover and be back in full flow. Making a settled team has become a challenge. The NCA has taken charge of ‘targeted’ and ‘emerging’ players on the state sides. To have a situation where you play these players directly in big tournaments is not ideal,” the source added.
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Shreyas Iyer is not the only player who is getting frequently injured. Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna are examples of such players who are expected to be part of the ODI World Cup 2023, however, these players are not able to play due to recurring injuries.
For instance, Jasprit Bumrah has not returned to the field since September last year and has already missed some crucial tournaments like Asia Cup 2022 and T20I World Cup 2023. He recently underwent back surgery and will also miss IPL 2023 and ICC World Test Championship final.
Deepak Chahar is another player who has been on and off the field in the last one year due to injury. Ravindra Jadeja returned to the team in the recent IND vs AUS Test series. However, prior to that, he spent a lot of time out of the field due to a knee injury.
If India selectors are not able to play a core set of players in ODIs, it will be tough for them to pick the final squad for the tournament. Picking a player directly in ODI World Cup without playing throughout the year can be a risky decision.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
