I’m not a fan of players resting during the IPL so that they can play the World Cup: Sanjay Manjrekar

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, a lot of questions are revolving around players’ fitness and workload management in light of the World Test Championship (WTC) final occurring just weeks after the IPL and the ODI World Cup also set for October-November later this year.
Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t seem convinced with the ongoing debate on the “workload management” theory but said Hardik Pandya might need to keep a check on his bowling exertion, keeping in mind the World Cup later this years.
“IPL’s success is largely dependent on players’ fitness, and that everyone plays to their best potential. Fans love this tournament, it’s quite popular,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“So, I’m not a fan of players resting during the IPL so that they can play the World Cup. Because, see, the players can get injured even during international matches. Anything can happen.
“There should be no restrictions on players in IPL. Owners spend money on them and they should have the freedom to use a player as much as they want. IPL should be given a special status in that regard,” he added.
Manjrekar’s remark came after India captain Rohit Sharma has requested the franchise to manage the workload of the Indian players.
Following the ODI series loss against Australia, the Indian captain had said, “It’s all up to the franchises. The franchises own them [the players] now, so we’ve given some indications or some kind of borderline kind of thing to the teams. But at the end of the day it’s up to the franchise and, most importantly it’s the players you know, they have to take care of their own body.”

“They [players] are all adults. So they have to look after their body and just if they feel that it’s getting a little too much, they can always talk about it and have a break in one or two games. I doubt [if] that will happen but,” he further added.
The 2023 season of the tournament kicks off with a thrilling opening match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings tonight at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.