The T20 World Cup will be played few days after the final of the IPL 2021, keeping the workload in mind, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested all the franchises to rest key players in the IPL 2021 for the upcoming mega event. Recently, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya didn’t feature in the all-important match against Chennai Super Kings due to niggles. According to a InsideSport, BCCI has requested IPL teams to “look after” the matter as well. Although Mumbai Indians said it was a team management’s decision, the story was much more than that as well.
Mumbai Indians have 6 players who will play in the T20 World Cup and amongst them, five will surely be featured in the Playing XI as well. Both Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have recently featured in all the four-Test matches in England, they needed rest and their fitness too have come under the scanner. “Rohit Sharma is a key player in the World Cup and we don’t want to take any risk. Mumbai Indians did the right thing by resting him for the first match. He still has a bruise on his knee. We have advised both Rohit and Mumbai Indians to consider the World Cup as a priority and take adequate rest,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport. While Jasprit Bumrah had bowled 151 overs in England during Tests, he has also batted for 25 overs in the series as well. As the speedster is prone to injuries, BCCI has advised Mumbai Indians and Bumrah not to take much pressure in the IPL and not risk any injuries also. And, to manage his workload, he could be rested in a few games as well.“Bumrah has done well in terms of fitness. But obviously, he is a key player in not just World Cup but also the Test against New Zealand. He is eager to play all the matches in IPL but managing his workload will be crucial. We have advised Mumbai to consider that. But it is up to them to take a call. BCCI cannot force a franchise to rest a player if he is not carrying any injury,” the BCCI official further added.
Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond has said that the franchise is also looking at the needs of Team India when managing the workload of all-rounder Hardik Pandya. "Hardik is training well. He trained today (Thursday) and he is getting closer to playing. We are balancing the needs of our team along with the needs of Team India as well. This franchise looks after its players. We are hopeful that Hardik will be back for the next match, he trained well on Thursday," said Bond during a post-match virtual press conference. "It is not a hard directive, you have a duty towards the players. You have to look after them, like anything you have to balance everything and you have to balance what the player wants. One thing our franchise does is look after our players. There is no point in rushing him back, you do not want him to get injured and miss rest of the tournament when we have a chance to win it," he added. Mumbai Indians will next lock horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday.
