IPL 2019: BCCI Executive feels Virat Kohli should be rested ahead of the World Cup

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to take place before the World Cup this year, the debate of resting the top players has cropped up once again. The showpiece event is set to begin on May 30 in England while the glittering T20 league will most probably conclude in the second or third week of the same month. This gives very less time for the players for the World Cup which is why the BCCI executive feels that the Indian captain Virat Kohli should rest properly.

Kohli has been playing continuous cricket over the last twelve months. Despite the fact that the selectors are trying to manage his workload, the burden of captaincy and batting is certainly taking a toll on him. He is battling with the back issues as well now and was troubled during the first innings in Melbourne Test recently as well. A few months ago, the captain and coach of the team had demanded the fast bowlers to be rested during the IPL.

If Bumrah needs rest, so does Kohli

While speaking to the Hindustan Times, the BCCI Executive stressed the importance of Virat Kohli getting ample rest before the 10-team event gets underway in the United Kingdom in the five months time from now. But a high-intensity IPL can tire out the Indian players who are supposed to play the whole tournament.

“If a Bumrah needs rest, so does Virat Kohli. In fact, if you look at the data over the last couple of seasons — excluding the time he was out with shoulder injury — Kohli has spent more time in the middle than any bowler would have. Resting them after bowling four overs? I think our bowlers are much fitter than that. Maybe we should think about resting the top batsmen,” the executive said.

With the pacers like Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar almost certain to be rested during the parts of the IPL, it will be interesting to see if India’s top batsmen take a break.

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