India team physio Patrick Farhart in touch with IPL franchises to monitor players’ workload

With the Indian selectors announcing the squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup, there are 15 special players now who will do the job for the two-time champions in the biggest cricket tournament in the world. And this has brought the focus back on the players’ workload issue for the remaining part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. The T20 tournament will continue till May 12 and India will be playing their first game of the WC on June 5, against South Africa.

India’s chief selector MSK Prasad said on Monday that since the final squad for the showpiece event has been announced, the national team’s physio Patrick Farhart will be in constant touch with all the IPL franchises to monitor the workload of the players who will catch the flight to England next month.

Seven franchises have WC-bound India players

Of the 15 players selected, while captain Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal are playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav are representing Chennai Super Kings. Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are playing for Mumbai Indians; Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav for Kolkata Knight Riders; Vijay Shankar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Sunrisers Hyderabad; KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami for Kings XI Punjab and Shikhar Dhawan for Delhi Capitals. Rajasthan Royals are the only team that has no Indian player picked for the WC.

“The team management, along with Patrick, is looking into the workload management programme. They are in constant touch with the (respective) physios of IPL franchises,” Prasad said in the press conference.

Players’ workload management has been a key issue in this IPL as it precedes the World Cup, unlike in 2011 and 2015. One of the physios from an IPL franchise was quoted as saying by Sportstar: “Every IPL franchise is very particular about maintaining the workload of the players and this being a World Cup year, the focus is more on the fitness levels.”

The physio said even the players nowadays know how to deal with workload management. He said every team has apps on their mobile phones through which they can keep a watch on their workload and other aspects of fitness. He added that it makes it easier for the national team physio to monitor the situation.

The chief selector, who said that the performance in the IPL was not taken into account for making the WC squad, also did not elucidate if the chosen 15 players will be advised rest towards the business end of the IPL.

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