IPL 2023: MI coach Boucher open to resting Rohit for ‘one or two games’, says managing workload not a difficulty in T20 cricket

Workload administration will likely be one of many main considerations for the Indian workforce administration main as much as the World Test Championship (WTC) at The Oval in June. With many of the prime weapons getting busy with the Indian Premier League (IPL) – that begins on Friday – the workforce administration and BCCI are cautious about monitoring the health regime of the WTC final-bound gamers.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher indicated that he’ll enable captain Rohit Sharma to take relaxation for a recreation or two if the state of affairs calls for.

“In regards to resting Rohit, he is the captain. Hopefully, he gets into some good sort of form and I hope he doesn’t want to rest. But yeah, we all adapt to different situations. If I can get the best out of him as a captain and player, that will be great. If it means he wants to rest one or two games, then I will do that. Absolutely, no problem,” Boucher mentioned.

Just a few prime cricketers like Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer are lacking out on the IPL on account of accidents, and maintaining in thoughts a packed worldwide calendar, the BCCI needs to make sure that all its key gamers are properly taken care of. Captain Rohit additionally revealed that after the ODI sequence in opposition to Australia ended, he had an extended chat with all of the gamers when it comes to how one can handle their workloads within the subsequent couple of months.

“After the last ODI, we had a long chat with the boys. We have talked to the players and told them to look after their bodies. When they go to play for their respective franchises, it is not much that they can control. It is up to the franchises, their physios and trainers and medical teams on how to handle their players. All these are adults and they know how to manage the entire situation and come back fresh for the final (WTC),” Rohit mentioned.

As far Mumbai Indians is worried, solely Rohit is a certainty for the WTC ultimate, however even then, when the IPL begins, the captain needs to be versatile in his strategy.

“In our team (Mumbai Indians), we have got so many young players who haven’t played a lot of cricket, so there is no question about workload management for them. But look, during the season, if something happens and we have to adapt to it, we will adapt to it,” Rohit mentioned.

“If we have to look after our players, if we have to rest a few of our bowlers, then we will give them rest. We have been very flexible in terms of getting the players right on the park. We will follow the same procedure that we have been doing with MI all these years. We will keep assessing who needs what, who will need a break. If the situation demands for us to give someone a break, we will do that. We have got a fine medical team with some of the most experienced physios and trainers. We will hear them out and see what is the right call to be made for an individual,” Rohit mentioned.

Boucher’s completely different take

Mumbai Indians head coach Boucher, nevertheless, has a unique tackle the workload administration. “It’s amazing we are actually talking about workloads in T20 cricket. Probably 10-15 years ago, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation. Workload is something that we have got the science behind it. We have got the trainers who give us all sorts of data and you just have to be adaptable to the situation that’s in front of you. In order to get the best out of every player, you need that space to look after him and see that he is in the right mode to perform. If he is tired, you need to rest him. If he is not tired, that’s a great situation to be in,” Boucher, who till lately was the coach of South Africa, mentioned.

“We will adapt to every situation. A lot of talk is given to workloads and all that kinds of stuff. T20 cricket, if you look at our schedule, there’s a nice gap between games to sort of rest and recover and we can look after every player. I don’t see workloads being a major issue for us throughout the IPL,” he added.

“Sometimes the media, people look too much into workloads. Especially in T20s, it’s a short game, three hours where you have to give your best with 100 per cent intensity. Like I said, 15 years ago, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation. Test cricket and One-day cricket is tough on the body. T20 cricket is short, so we shouldn’t be talking about workloads…”