Right after the ODI series between India and Australia ended last week, skipper Rohit Sharma talked about the workload of certain Indian cricketers be managed during the hectic two months of the IPL 2023. The question was asked after the frequent injuries of players like – Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, etc. While Rohit’s statements made complete sense, what the world wasn’t ready for was to know that Rohit might fall into that category too.
On Wednesday, a report carried out by The Indian Express suggested that Rohit Sharma will pick and choose which games to play for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL to manage his workload and that in his absence, Suryakumar Yadav will captain the team.
Answering the burning question during MI’s first press conference of the season, Rohit Sharma said, “In terms of me resting, I think Mark (Boucher) will give you an answer to that,” he said. To this, the team’s coach Boucher added: “Do you want to rest?”
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Boucher explained, “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 1 or 2 games, then I will do that. Absolutely, no problem.”
A plethora of star-studded players are already not taking part in IPL 2023 due to injuries, and honestly, Rohit Sharma would want to be mindful of his health. In the last couple of years, the Indian skipper has been injured a bit too many times for his liking.
Besides, last year, he had also picked up Covid which forced him to miss the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Edgbaston and in December, Rohit required stitching on his thumb during the ODI series against Bangladesh, ruling him out of Tests.
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Now, with a second opportunity to win the World Cup awaiting, Rohit Sharma would want himself and his key players to remain in the best shape physically. There is a good seven months to go between now and the World Cup but with India playing several homes and away bilateral series to go with the much-anticipated Asia Cup, workload management will be one of the most important factors surrounding the Indian team.
