BCCI instructs franchises not to over-bowl contracted players ahead of WTC final, World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked all IPL franchises to not overuse Indian contracted players as there is a chance of fatigue and heavy toll on their bodies, especially in the case of India bowlers in contention for the World Test Championship final to be held in the English summer.
The message was conveyed during a Zoom meeting conducted Nitin Patel, physiotherap at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, and Soham Desai, Team India’s strength and conditioning coach, to trainers and physiotheraps of each Indian Premier League franchise.
The BCCI is also concerned about the bowlers among the 20 shortled players for the ICC World Cup 2023 to be staged in India during October-November, and hopes there are no more injury setbacks on that front.
The Board is keeping an eye on pacers like Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans), Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders), Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings), Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals), Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Washington Sundar (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
The IPL begins on March 31 with defending champions Gujarat Titans meeting four-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The NCA had already shared the workload monitoring report of each India player with their respective franchises and have asked them to use it as a guide for their reference.
“Franchises have been told that the Indian team bowlers should be especially used with caution. IPL teams should not over-bowl them in the nets. They can focus more on strengthening and training. Players can do fielding drills but till the first week of May, franchises shouldn’t push them. After May first week, those players who are in contention can slowly increase their bowling time in the nets. The BCCI will get in touch with all franchises again,” a BCCI official said.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, during a review meeting in January, had stated that keeping in mind the men’s Future Tours Programme and preparation for the ICC-World Cup 2023, the NCA will work in tandem with IPL franchises to monitor the shortled Indian players participating in IPL 2023.
This was especially crucial as several key players are currently undergoing rehabilitation after injury. These include wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer.
After the recent ODI series against Australia, India captain Rohit Sharma was asked whether players would take breaks during the IPL. He said he had “doubts if that (players taking breaks during IPL) will happen, but.”
“It’s all up to the franchises now. They own them now. We have given some indications to the teams, but at the end of the day, it’s up to the franchises. And more importantly, it’s up to the players. They are all adults; they have to look after their bodies. If they feel it’s getting a bit too much, they can talk about it and take a break in one or two games. I doubt if that will happen, but,” Rohit said after India went down in the series decider to Australia in Chennai.