Players overworked? Excess of cricket leading to injuries to key players? BCCI says it’s clueless

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Since early morning on Thursday, Dambulla was abuzz with news of a letter shot by the Indian team management to the BCCI bigwigs complaining about excessive cricket being played in all three formats of the game, reports Amol Karhadkar. More... Players overworked? BCCI says it’s clueless Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Dambulla, August 13, 2010 Since early morning on Thursday, Dambulla was abuzz with news of a letter shot by the Indian team management to the Board of Control for Cricket in India bigwigs complaining about excessive cricket being played in all three formats of the game. A sports channel reported on Wednesday night that the letter requested BCCI secretary, N. Srinivasan, to look into the effect of too much cricket on seven key members of the squad. “They should be dealt with carefully as they are picking up overuse injuries,” the letter, according to the channel, said. The letter also reportedly requests the BCCI to prune the three-Test home series against New Zealand so that the players get an additional week to prepare for the series in South Africa. A member of the Indian team management, requesting anonymity, confirmed that they had “communicated” their feelings to the BCCI after a series of breakdowns during the Test series in Sri Lanka. However, the BCCI denied having received any such letter. “If you have to go by media reports, go ahead. But the BCCI hasn’t received any such letter from anyone in the team,” a senior BCCI official told HT. While Srinivasan was unavailable for a comment, a source close to him confirmed that, “there is no such letter”. Team manager Ranjib Biswal too denied being in the know of such a letter. The team management on a tour consists of captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni), vice-captain (Virender Sehwag), coach (Gary Kirsten) and team manager (Biswal). Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara admitted that too much cricket does take a toll on the players’ bodies. “We have (played) less cricket than India this year. Our itinerary is a bit more structured, which is good for the players. But the workload is quite high,” Sangakkara said. “We have to take a decision on how many players we are going to play in a particular format. “We have got to make players understand that if they get injured, there is a scheme in place to look after them so that they don’t feel left out.”

[vamos_rafa]

someone 2k the right step finally... bcci in the pursuit of maintaing rankings or smthin keeps on sending its players to useless places like SL, Zimb .... and in ths process even imp tours like asia cup etc also lose its sting... thr shd be a proper structuring in place... also i think players shud be allwd to pick and choose if they r in a position to i.e... i dnt expcet smone like jadeja to say i wudn play this match....

[vamos_rafa]

btw i 4got to mention... i just love ur profile pic... :-P

[Chandan]

someone 2k the right step finally... bcci in the pursuit of maintaing rankings or smthin keeps on sending its players to useless places like SL' date=' Zimb .... and in ths process even imp tours like asia cup etc also lose its sting... thr shd be a proper structuring in place... also i think players shud be allwd to pick and choose if they r in a position to i.e... i dnt expcet smone like jadeja to say i wudn play this match....[/quote']

btw i 4got to mention... i just love ur profile pic... :-P

Failed to understand whatever you said. Can you please write in English for us mortals to understand what you are conveying? And I agree with the team management that Indian players are overworked, in fact heavily overworked. Guys like Dhoni are nearly killing themselves by playing each and every match, we have ruined our every bright fast bowling prospect by grinding him to dust before he could even put his strength deliveries into his muscle memory. The selectors need to work closely with the team management to decide the work load of each and every player. Those who are just test players, like Dravid or Laxman or Vijay or even Mishra don't need to worry, nor do the one day specialists like Praveen Kumar, Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Jadeja et al. It is the players who plays all the formats needs to be closely monitored. A test seam bowler shouldn't play more than 10 ODIs in a year. That will include Zaheer, Ishant, Mithun, Sree if fit, Irfan if in favour and any other new comer. A test batsman shouldn't play more than 13-15 ODI and that'll include Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Raina (now), Yuvraj if he plays tests. Same for spinners too. If this kind of program is not drawn, we might lose our first choice players ahead of the most important tours.

[vamos_rafa]

Failed to understand whatever you said. Can you please write in English for us mortals to understand what you are conveying? And I agree with the team management that Indiand are overworked, infact heavily overworked. Guys like Dhoni are nearly killing themselves by playing each and every match, we have ruined our every bright fast bowling prospect by grinding him to dust before he could even put his strength deliveies into his muscle memory. The selectors need to work closely with the team manament to decide the work load of each and every player. Those who are just test players, like Dravid or Laxman or Vijay or even Mishra don't need to worry, nor do the one day specialists like Praveen Kumar, Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Jadeja et al. It is the players who plays all the formats needs to be closely monitored. A test seam bowler shouldn't play more than 10 ODIs in a year. That will include Zaheer, Ishant, Mithun, Sree if fit, Irfan if in favour and any other new comer. A test batsman shouldn't play more than 13-15 ODI and that'll include Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Raina (now), Yuvraj if he plays tests. Same for spinners too. If this kind of program is not drawn, we might lose our first choice players ahead of the most important tours.

Hmm I meant exactly what you said....

[Prudent]

It was quite a dramatic fall for the Indians, losing by 200 runs to New Zealand after their hard-fought win in the third Test against Sri Lanka. Sunil Gavaskar, in his syndicated column in the Times of India, says the cramped scheduling could be one of the main factors responsible. http://bit.ly/cCMtCT TOUGH ORDEAL FOR INDIANS Back To Back Tests Followed By The Tri-Series In Humid Lanka Is Taking Its Toll SUNIL GAVASKAR THE BIG advantage of hosting a tournament is that, the schedule can be arranged to give enough rest and recuperation time for the home team, apart from getting it to play at venues that they are more comfortable at and where they have a good record and thus a winning mentality. So, when the Tri-series started two days after a gruelling three Test series finished, the Sri Lankan team did not do the usual thing by playing the opening game of a new series but gave itself a couple more days to rest and prepare for the series. India chose to use choppers to go to Dambulla for the opening game and quite clearly, had not recovered enough from a tense final Test and even more pressured last day of the Test and were wiped out by a fresh New Zealand team. Most other countries invariably have a week or ten days break after playing backto-back Tests, but India agreed to play three Tests in a row and that too in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka and not surprisingly it took its toll on the players. That a One-day series then starts two days later is even more tough on the guys for that is even harder on the body than a Test match. Yes India is a team that most countries want to play, since there is so much more sponsorship for their boards when that happens, but that gives India all the chance to at least ensure that its players are given adequate break days between games. India has a busy season coming up culminating in the ICC World Cup and that is going to test the players physically and mentally. The pressure is always there when India plays anywhere, because of the platinum fan following and any lackadaisical performance is going to get scathing criticism. So the players know they cannot afford to relax at all but they are human too, and just like any professional has days when he/she is at the peak of performance, and days when it is not quite up there at the same level. While most other professionals can get away not so the India cricketers. The big defeat by the Kiwis in the first game will no doubt bring the critics out, but once the noise has subsided what the Indians must remember is, that they are a very good team and One-day cricket can have any team being beaten. They get a few more days rest now before they play the next game and they can analyze what went wrong. Was it more a fault in technique or was it just a mental adjustment that couldn’t be made? Remember most Indian players were coming off a five-day format and to change the outlook in just two days is not easy. The legendary players are also not in the team for this event. The Sri Lankans would go in to their first game with a far more settled team than the Kiwis. The Lankan batting will depend on their top four batsmen and as far as their bowling goes, it has a lot more variety than India or New Zealand. The Kiwis may find it extremely difficult to face the likes of Mendis and Malinga, as they haven’t faced them in the recent past. Their fielding too, is very good and they may not give the Kiwi batsmen a second chance like the Indians did. Meanwhile, if the Kiwis can put in yet another determined performance just like they did against the Indians, they can put up a good fight. They have begun well, and well begun is half done goes the old saying but don’t rule India out. As they showed in the Test series they can be late flourishers. PMG

[Sooda]

Great that the 'team management' has had a say, hopefully it will sink in with he BCCI babus. Is it too late though looking at it from the WC point of view? As the scehdule is pretty much decided till next year right...

[Chandan]

Great that the 'team management' has had a say' date=' hopefully it will sink in with he BCCI babus. Is it too late though looking at it from the WC point of view? As the scehdule is pretty much decided till next year right...[/quote'] We can still rest the core members. If they play the tests, let them rest through the ODIs to recover completely. That is the the only answer or else Zaheer, Bhajji, Ishant, Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Raina, Yuvraj may get injured for the main the main event and that'll be a big loss.

[saneindian]

Can we blame these guys? They have fielded for nearly 550-600 overs n the 3 tests in the hot and humid conditions of Lanka and 2 days later are back to play a ODI match again!! Thankfully there is a 5 days gap between the last match and the next one and even the next 2 matches are scheduled better giving the players chance to rest their tired bodies and mind. And a look at the schedule suggests guys like Sachin, Bhajji, Zak, Dhoni and Raina will play non stop from hereon till the world cup. The current tri series ends on 28th Aug, CL T20 begin from 10th Sept and ends on 26th Sept. (I would wish not to see any Indian team even make it to the semis to that these players get some rest before the all important Australia test series) Series with Australia starts from 1st oct and ends on 24th Oct Series with NZ starts on 4th Nov, ends on 10th December. Series with SA starts on 16th Dec and ends on 23rd Jan. (So looks like no practice match in SA and about 3 days for acclamatisation in SA) World cup starts on 19th Feb and I am sure we will play a few preparatory matches between 23rd Jan and 19th Feb.

[The Outsider]

So the players are asking to reduce one test match, but will play as many ODIs as they are asked to!

[Online]

So the players are asking to reduce one test match' date=' but will play as many ODIs as they are asked to![/quote'] exactly! I was shocked to read that....hope it's not true.

[Karan114]

exactly! I was shocked to read that....hope it's not true.

If it is, then it is even worse then our players' consistent refusal of UDRS (apart from Sehwag who said he would have liked the referral system during the Lanka series).

[hitman1980]

WTH .. these players r always complaining .. they were allowed to skip zim tour .. ishant, sreesant r in and out of team to get enough rest .. zaheer, bhajji r injured and getting rest .. nehra, ravindra jadega plays in odi only .. raina started playing test just from this series only .. yuvi was injured for so long .. sachin is getting rest for so many series now .. dravid, laxman play test only Gambhir is injured and getting rest.. sehwag missed t20 and zim tour enough rest .. rohit rarely plays .. Just left is dhoni .. Throw him out for 2 months and give him rest .. So how much rest these guys want??? they can easily skip ipl and get 2 month rest easily.. r they ready to do tht?

[Karan114]

Pointless ODIs, T20s tiring us, killing our World Cup chances: top Indian team official Pointless ODIs, T20s tiring us, killing our World Cup chances: top team official Nihal Koshie Indian cricketers are stretched to a point that is unsustainable, and defeats like Tuesday’s 200-run humiliation at the hands of New Zealand could get more frequent unless the Board gets its priorities right, fears a senior member of the team management. It is irrational for key members of the squad to be tiring themselves out at the Champions League, and for the team to be playing inconsequential One-Dayers so close to the Test series in South Africa and the 2011 World Cup, the senior member told The Indian Express on Friday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will play for Chennai Super Kings and Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan for Mumbai Indians in the Champions League that begins in South Africa on September 10. “Cricket has become a very commercial sport, but sometimes the Indian cricket board needs to think about the kind of schedule the players who are core to plans for the World Cup and also the Test squad have to deal with,†said the senior member, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The loss against New Zealand was expected. The players were fatigued. We had just two days off between the end of the Test series (on August 7) and the start of the One-Day series (on August 10). You can’t recover from a Test series in just two days,†he said. “Only if you are a player who has to play day in and day out will you realize that. There wasn’t enough energy on the field and frankly, the players were too tired. There wasn’t any time to work with the One-Day players too because there was no time between the Tests and the tri-series,†he added. India play a total 4 Tests and 10 ODIs against Australia and New Zealand before a difficult tour of South Africa in December-January, where they want to win their first Test series. Ahead of this gruelling run-up to the World Cup (beginning February 19) is the Champions League. The team management is dreading the prospect of injuries to one or more of the stars who will play that tournament, which is essentially a money-spinner for cricket boards. A key priority for the team is to ensure the fitness of Zaheer Khan, who missed the Sri Lanka series because of a shoulder injury. “We really struggled without Zaheer in the Test series. It was an achievement in itself that we drew the series without Zaheer in the squad. But this is not a situation we want to be in. The absence of Zaheer has led to other fast bowlers feeling the strain. Our key players are suffering from injuries and niggles,†said the senior member. Ishant Sharma bowled 99 overs in the three-Test series on largely docile wickets, and then sat out of the first One-Dayer of the tri-series. With his left ankle heavily strapped and in a brace, he has been trying to find his rhythm in the nets. The players and the team think tank have not been enjoying the overkill of India’s encounters with Sri Lanka. The side is plagued by injuries, and coach Gary Kirsten has allowed Test players who are also playing the One-Dayers a short break until the next game on Monday. There also seems to be a disconnect between the selectors, the mandarins of the BCCI and the team management, which includes skipper Dhoni and Kirsten, with regard to resting key players, rotating fast bowlers and scheduling matches. The team management has repeatedly requested the BCCI to ease the load of the Test players. However, the only time they have got their way so far with the Board and the selectors was when India fielded a second-string squad for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pointless-odis-t20s-tiring-us-killing-our-world-cup-chances-top-team-official/660031/0

[Jersey #10]

That's why Sachin is not playing all the games to prepare for the worldcup

[ZodiaC]

Dhoni is the one who required rest badly. Maybe Sehwag too. That ain't a good enough reason for the loss as half of the side didn't even play the test matches. But anyways I agree that if we continue to follow this trend, we're gonna soon suffer badly.

[someone]

That's why Sachin is not playing all the games to prepare for the worldcup

look, that can be interpreted in two ways. At the end, it is all about results, if we do bad in wc, every one including you will be talking about the lack of preparation eg. sachin by not playing enough cricket matches and getting no form and practise. And if we win, everything is right.

[Chandan]

India has to tread very carefully till the world cup to ensure that it has its first choice players available for the mega event, This is the article I read today in HT: Battle-weary Indians begin World Cup quest Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Dambulla, August 14, 2010 With five days without a game — a luxury for India’s international cricketers —Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina decided to take some time off and spend some time at home before India’s next game against Sri Lanka on Monday. "Both players had some personal commitments and had taken permission from the BCCI,” team manager Ranjib Biswal said on Friday. “They will rejoin the team today.” However, the team management does not have any issues with the absence of two key members who are part of the team’s plans in all formats of the game. An overdose of cricket has resulted in the team management instructing those who have been in Sri Lanka for five weeks to “completely take some time off cricket”. The only exception was paceman Ishant Sharma, who bowled in the nets along with the young blood roped in for one-dayers for the second successive day. Sharma joined the injury club after last week’s third Test, which has been a major cause of concern for the team. With India slated to play eight Test matches and 13 one-dayers between the conclusion of the ongoing tri-series and the beginning of the World Cup, the team is obviously concerned about fitness issues. “This is going to be the biggest challenge - to keep on winning all the matches and yet maintain the players’ fitness,” a key member of the Indian squad told HT. “The worst fear, as of now, is that due to excess of cricket, we will not be able to field the best eleven in South Africa and during the World Cup.” With the team always under pressure to win every time, coach Gary Kirsten and skipper M.S. Dhoni, who has been constantly playing competitive cricket for the last year barring a month-long break between the IPL and the Asia Cup, are left scratching their heads. As a part of their preparations for the South Africa tour “where we have never won a Test series till now”, and the World Cup, the senior members of the squad have submitted some suggestions to the BCCI. Some of the major suggestions include reducing the three-Test series against Kiwis to two matches to help team reach Africa early. The Board, unfortunately, hasn’t yet taken the suggestions seriously. “As cricketers, all we can do is to express our views to the governing body. The rest is not in our hands,” the member said. A lot of hue and cry was made after India’s 200-run defeat against New Zealand in tri-series opener. However, the team wasn’t surprised at all. “Not much was expected of that game,” the team source said. “We had four to five key guys who had played three Tests in just over three weeks and the rest of the youngsters had just come from India with hardly any cricket under their belt.” Having set their targets for the next eight months, the team has approached the BCCI with an open heart for the “betterment of the key individuals, and most importantly, the team”. If the injury list increases and the dismal show in the last edition of the World Cup is repeated in the sub-continent next year, then it won’t be fair to blame only the Men in Blue. INJURY LIST The team has written to the board over the non-stop cricket they have played and its effects ZAHEER KHAN The ace paceman's shoulder injury resurfaced during the Asia Cup and as a result, he was ruled out of the Sri Lanka tour. S SREESANTH Due to a knee injury, the Kerala bowler had to return after bowling just six balls during first practice session in Sri Lanka. GAUTAM GAMBHIR The opener missed the last two Tests against Lankans and was ruled out of the tri-series due to a sprain in his right knee. HARBHAJAN SINGH The off-spinner suffered a side strain during the second Test against Sri Lanka. He also injured his calf muscle. ISHANT SHARMA The bowler who bowled 99 overs in the 3 Tests against Lanka missed India's opener against New Zealand due to sore ankle. SACHIN TENDULKAR The master batsman did his groin in during his match-saving double century during the second Test against Sri Lanka. Though he played the third Test, he preferred to recover instead of aggravating the groin during the tri-series. Being the key he is for the Indian team, he was rested for the ongoing tri-series. --------------------------------------------- So those who can't see the larger picture, can they answer?

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Team edgy as BCCI fails to address issues The Indian cricket team is growing steadily impatient with the BCCI's 'callous' attitude towards performance-enhancement measures to be adopted ahead of the World Cup, highly-placed sources in the team indicated to TOI on Friday. More... Team edgy as BCCI fails to address issues Partha Bhaduri, TNN, Aug 14, 2010 DAMBULLA: The Indian cricket team is growing steadily impatient with the BCCI's 'callous' attitude towards performance-enhancement measures to be adopted ahead of the World Cup, highly-placed sources in the team indicated to TOI on Friday. A cold war seems to be brewing between the team's think-tank, which includes some senior players, and the BCCI over various issues including cramped scheduling, contractual obligations and player overkill. Sources said the team management and the Board are not on the same page when it comes to the processes to be adopted for ensuring better results in the month's leading up to cricket's marquee tournament. Poor planning has meant the team management is unsure if the best players will even be fit and available for the World Cup. Repeated pleas to the Board asking for better-rounded schedules, in order to ensure availability of top players for important fixtures, are being ignored, leading to strong resentment among those entrusted with the all-important task of winning matches. The team management feels rotating players is also not a feasible option, since sponsors, broadcasters and fans want the best players to take the field, and for India to win every game. In such a scenario, and without much support from BCCI, the team is faced with the gargantuan task of juggling options, pleasing everybody and keeping players match-fit as well. "It's all commerce, and you've got to keep the mills churning," said a top source. "We understand that, but we've also got to ensure that we win every match we play. We must also make sure that our key members are available for crunch games, which makes the job more difficult. Sometimes we are playing too many matches and we can't plan for the important fixtures. Just look at the number of injuries we've had to some key members over the past few months." "This is a highly-stressful job and it's highly physical. Someone like MS Dhoni has had only one month's break in the past 10 months. I'm not sure we will have the best team available to pick for the World Cup." That could be a disaster for India, who are expected to go in as one of the strong favourites with the World Cup being held in the subcontinent. The source added: "We try and keep the Board informed of our concerns when we can." Asked if any sympathetic feelers from the Board had come in, he simply said, "You know as well as I do what comes of these requests." Asked if the Board and the players were at least meeting halfway on the issue, he shook his head. India currently seem a disjointed lot in Dambulla for the tri-series, a largely inconsequential tournament which many top players, nursing niggles, have skipped. With a spaced-out schedule, jaded players have taken the opportunity to either escape to Sri Lanka's beaches or rest. Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina have gone back home for a three-day break but unnecessary secrecy and official misinformation have revolved around the players' whereabouts. "They are only human, and they must rest," said a source. "India play the most cricket and you cannot recover from a three-Test series in two days. I don't understand the secrecy but we were knackered going into the New Zealand game (India lost by 200 runs). The youngsters had not had too much cricket coming into this series but the key players are always the ones who play in every format, and they were simply not in a position to play. The defeat was not a surprise. Now we go back from here and immediately there are tournaments like the Champions League and the Corporate Cup. It's a mess." The team's big focus before the World Cup is the three-Test and five-ODI South Africa series, but they also have two Tests and a three-ODI series against Australia in October and three Tests and five ODIs against New Zealand before that. The World Cup follows immediately after this marathon run of Test matches, a format in which India are trying to cling on to their No. 1 rank. The team has also had no feelers from BCCI yet on whether any matches from the New Zealand series can be cut down to enable them to prepare better for SA, where the team is very keen on winning the series. "In Sri Lanka too, we bowled and played very well in the Tests with the depleted squad we had," said the source. " Zaheer Khan could have made a big difference. Unfortunately it's come to a pass where we are losing out on key players when we need them most, and that's not a healthy development." Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun, who bore the brunt of the pace bowling workload in the Tests here, are on the verge of breaking down and are being wrapped in cotton wool by the team management. With the general sentiment in the Team India camp being that the BCCI is unwilling to shelve some of its commercial interests in the players and team's best interests, and with only a small pool of match-winning stars, India will be one tired and angry squad heading into the World Cup.

[achilles]

Sources and reports. Why doesn't someone come out in the open and talk about this if its troubling them so much?