Teams like MI, CSK need to test reserve bench now, says Dean Jones

With the ICC World Cup not too far now, foreign players are now leaving for their respective national camps for the final preparations for the mega event. Rajasthan Royals (RR) are one team that will be the affected the most though they are having a disappointing outing this time. Sunrisers Hyderabad are another team which sees the exit of overseas players. The departures of these players create opportunities for the reserve bench players, some of whom are also in the queue to play in the showpiece event.

Former Australia cricketer Dean Jones, who is currently working as a panelist on Star Sports Select Dugout, expressed shock over some of the franchises’ approach towards picking players like Martin Guptill of the SRH and Hashim Amla, who played earlier for Kings XI Punjab.

Jones or ‘Professor Deano’ as he is generally called, wrote in a piece in Sportstar that franchises like Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) needed to start using some of the bench players. He said both the teams required to have their players fresh in the run-up to the playoffs.

‘You got to get fresh guys’

“They have been on the road for a fair bit and now it’s like training a racehorse, you have got to get it right. You got to get guys fresh, leading into the play-offs. It will be interesting to see how they get the match-ups right,” Jones said.

He also pointed out the fact that teams that have the best Indian players also come into focus now. He said it is the job of the captain and coach to make the key players understand their roles and how they can execute them. He said the teams will be different now from the ones that played initially and it is almost like the franchises playing two different teams and that brings into relevance the question of adjustment.

Team India have had their nervous moments when key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja grappled through injuries and sickness. With less a month to go for the first ball of the World Cup to be bowled, players’ fitness remains a prime concern for the national team management.

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