IPL 2023: IPL Chairman asks players to improve their fitness standards to maintain career longevity: Every time a cricketer gets injured or feels a niggle, franchise tournaments worldwide, especially the Indian Premier League (IPL), come into the public’s radar and even cricket pundits. Often the IPL has been blamed for exploiting high-profile players, only because it involves a massive windfall.
The sport of cricket involves multiple injuries. The players have to run between the wickets, and even in the field, dive and whatnot, so injuries become part and parcel of the game. However, certain measures can be taken to avoid the injuries and IPL chairman Arun Dhumal emphasised on same during his recent media interaction.
Dhumal reckons players will have to improve their fitness standards in order to sustain in all three formats of the game and then the franchise tournaments.
“They need to improve their fitness levels,” said Arun Dhumal. “Even then, for a medium-pace bowler, injuries are bound to happen at some point in time.”
He mentioned that if a player needs career longevity, he will have to prioritise his needs and choices. Dhumal cited the example of English paceman James Anderson, who is still going strong at the test levels at 40 years of age.
Notably, Anderson has only made himself available for the traditional format of cricket. His last ODI appearance for England dates back to 2015 against Afghanistan.
“In case we have to see longevity for a cricketer, they will have to make a choice. Either keep playing every format and every game for a few years or rest for some matches and make a long career. Jimmy Anderson is an example for so many players. At this age, the kind of bowling he is doing and the number of wickets he has taken, it’s phenomenal,” Dhumal said.
It’s important to note that Indian players have become more vulnerable to injuries and thus comes the query of players’ fitness. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Shreyas Iyer are out of action for a while now. Moreover, young pacer Deepak Chahar has once again been troubled by his hamstring during one of the CSK games.
The IPL chairman then talked about how certain Indian players have maintained their fitnesses and played all formats of the game without any critical difficulty.
“Virat Kohli has been playing IPL for so many years, he’s never been injured. Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami never got injured. Does it have anything to do with the IPL? At the same time, you have Raj Angad Bawa getting injured. He’s played IPL. Shreyas Iyer got injured but not because of the IPL,” he said.
He emphasised that injuries are bound to happen in any sport but targeting a successful cricket league only because it involves money isn’t the right mindset.
“Just because they make money through IPL, we start blaming IPL for anything and everything. Injuries are an integral part of any sport. Our badminton stars are getting injured. They don’t play in the IPL. There are so many stars who are coming from overseas and playing in the IPL. They have not given an excuse that IPL is responsible for their injury. So we have to get out of this mindset.”
For more details head to IPL’s official website.