Mumbai Indians franchise is looking to manage the workload of the players in the second leg of the Indian Premier League at UAE, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no role in this and it is their individual call with an eye on the humid conditions in the UAE and the upcoming T20 World Cup.
A BCCI official said the board has not passed any directive to franchises on workload management and it is an individual call.
Mumbai Indians Hasn’t Passed Any Information To Any Team With Regards To Workload Management
Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer smashed quick half-centuries as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Abu Dhabi. Rahul Tripathi scored an unbeaten 74 off 42 balls and Venkatesh Iyer, playing his second IPL game, smashed 53 off 30 balls, as Kolkata raced to 159 for 3 in 15.1 overs, chasing down Mumbai Indians’ 155 for 6 quite comfortably.
It was the 2nd win for KKR in the UAE leg after they defeated RCB by 9 wickets while Mumbai Indians lost their 2nd consecutive game after their defeat by 20 runs to Chennai Super Kings in the UAE leg.
“We haven’t passed any information to any team with regards to workload management. If a player is rested, it has to be the call of the franchise and the player. Also, the franchises know how to take care of their players,” the official said.
In fact, while three franchise officials confirmed that they are looking to rotate players keeping an eye on the humid weather conditions in the UAE, they were quick to point there has been no diktat from the BCCI on this.
“It is very hot and the humidity can sometimes get to even the fittest player in the team. So, we are looking to rotate some of the players with an eye on workload management. Players are always the priority and everyone is on the same page when it comes to this. But no, no diktat from the BCCI on this and honestly they also know it isn’t needed as franchises have always worked closely with the board in ensuring players are in top shape while playing the league,” one of the officials said.
Before entering this match, KKR had a dismal record against MI, registering just six wins in a total of 28 games, but Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi helped the franchise turn around their fortunes.
Shane Bond: Hardik Padya Is Getting Closer To Playing
Shane Bond, Mumbai Indians bowling coach on Thursday night said the franchise is also looking at the needs of the Indian team when managing the workload of all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya has not played both the games against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing UAE leg of IPL 2021.
“Hardik is training well. He trained today (Thursday) and he is getting closer to playing. We are balancing the needs of our team along with the needs of Team India as well. This franchise looks after its players. We are hopeful that Hardik will be back for the next match, he trained well on Thursday,” said Bond during the post-match virtual press conference after the game against KKR.
But Shane Bond too was quick to clarify that there is no directive from the BCCI board on this front.
“It is not a hard directive, you have a duty towards the players. You have to look after them, like anything you have to balance everything and you have to balance what the player wants. One thing our franchise does is look after our players. There is no point in rushing him back, you do not want him to get injured and miss rest of the tournament when we have a chance to win it,” he added.
In fact, MI just like the other franchises had been known to keep Team India’s interest in mind over the years and it is no different this time either.
Hitman Rohit Sharma is very cautiously managing his workload for Mumbai Indians in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 with several big-ticket tournaments lined up for Team India in the near future. For the unversed, next month’s T20 World Cup will be held in the UAE whereas the following edition will take place in late 2022.
Moreover, the ODI World Cup is also scheduled to take place in the second half of 2023. Rohit Sharma, at 34, isn’t willing to take any chances of missing out from any of the marquee events, hence, he is keeping ‘India above MI’.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 155/6 (Quinton de Kock 55, Rohit Sharma 33; Lockie Ferguson 2-27) vs KKR 159/3 (Rahul Tripathi 74*, Venkatesh Iyer 53, Jasprit Bumrah 3-43).