Ganguly opines on workload management in IPL 2019: The former Indian captain also put the workload issue down to players.
Other than cricket, what has really picked up as an issue ahead of the 12th season of the Indian Premier League is “workload management”. With IPL 2019 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 scheduled to happen with a minimal time-gap between the two, several cricketers have come under the limelight with respect to them playing extensive cricket in the next three and a half months.
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Among the notable personalities to address the same are former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India Coach Ravi Shastri, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming.
From warning the Indian cricketers regarding picking up “bad habits” to suggesting them to take “smart decisions” during these difficult and competitive months, India captain Virat Kohli has also been vocal about the same.
In a recent interview with PTI, former India captain Sourav Ganguly also opened up on the issue. Ganguly highlighted the fact that a cricketer has a limited number of years to play the sport. Therefore, finding a way to remain fresh was his suggestion to the contemporary cricketers.
“Yes, there is a lot of cricket but you just play. How many cricketers get to play 15-16 years of international cricket? I don’t think anyone should worry about being fatigued, being tired. Just find a way to get fresh. Because I have always said there is limited time to play this sport. Getting opportunities at the international level, at the IPL level, this will never come back, so find a way to get rest, find a way to stay fresh and keep playing,” Ganguly said.
“Not playing is not the solution”
There have been frequent suggestions regarding World Cup-bound players being rested in the tournament. Other than reducing the shine off IPL, it will also mean that franchises will not be able to field their best XI for the tournament. Opining against resting players, Ganguly said that a cricketer should play as many matches as possible.
“Not playing is not the solution, even our generation played a lot of cricket. Yes IPL was not there as it came towards the end of our career but, cricket-wise, it was the same. I keep saying that before you realize, you will see 10-12 years have just flown away. Just make the most of it and play every possible cricket match you can,” he added.
The conclusion out of all the debates on the topics eventually falls down to players being answerable for their fitness. Before concluding, Ganguly also shared a similar school of thought saying that cricketers should never say that they don’t want to play.
“Decision should be left to the players. It’s their career, you play at the top level consistently and you can get injured. And there is no guarantee that when you play for the country you won’t get injured. So there is no hard and fast rule. I believe in one thing, as a player, when you get an opportunity, play, never say I don’t want to play,” Ganguly concluded.
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