Ramesh Powar blames poor player management after Faf du Plessis’ IPL comment over Rabada

South Africa have been already knocked out of the ongoing World Cup with two matches still to go in the group stage. The loss against Pakistan confirmed their exit and soon, a lot of questions came up regarding players being fit and fresh. Surprisingly, the skipper Faf du Plessis then revealed that he had advised their ace bowler Kagiso Rabada to not play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year.

Rabada was supposed to be a potent weapon for the Proteas in the mega event. But the pacer has clearly looked down on pace and failed to make an impact in the middle which affected the team’s performance. However, Faf Du Plessis lamenting playing in IPL as one of the reasons for few of their players not giving their best in the World Cup has irked many including Ramesh Powar.

“I don’t think we’ll ever have a perfect answer for that because he’s probably biting on too much. But we did try and get him not to go to the IPL; to try and stay and get fresh. That wasn’t the case of — and then when he went there, we were like, let’s try and get him back halfway through the IPL because it’s important, not just for him, but a few other players,” Faf Du Plessis said in the post-match presser.

Powar lauds BCCI

Ramesh Powar blamed Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) poor player management for a below-par performance from the team. He cited the example of how the BCCI and all the franchises managed the Indian fast bowlers even during the IPL, let alone the international matches. The result is the performance of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Even Bhuvneshwar Kumar fared well before getting injured.

“Its important how you manage your players. Look at @Jaspritbumrah93 & other fast bowlers been managed by @BCCI @mipaltan & all franchises. Injury will always be part of a fast bowler’s career, who puts in heart & soul for his team.its not abt criticism but management & awareness,” Powar wrote in a tweet.