• sportzyverse
• Cricket news, IPL 2024
• 02/17/2024
• 0 Comments

As the Indian cricket team gears up for the upcoming T20-centric schedule, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup in 2024, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has emphasized the importance of workload management for centrally contracted players. Shah declared that IPL franchises must adhere to the workload management guidelines set by the BCCI to ensure the players’ well-being.

“This is the BCCI’s mandate. The BCCI is the supreme body, and whatever it decides, the franchises will have to follow — we are above the franchises,” Shah stated, underlining the authority of the Indian Cricket Board.

In line with this directive, the BCCI is reportedly making it mandatory for Indian players to participate in the Ranji Trophy, featuring in at least three or four matches, to be eligible for IPL participation. Shah communicated this decision to the IPL franchises, emphasizing the importance of red-ball cricket.

“They have been informed on the phone already, and I’m going to write letters as well that if your chairman of selectors, your coach, and your captain are asking for it, then you will have to play red-ball cricket,” Shah asserted.

However, Shah clarified that decisions regarding workload management would be made in collaboration with guidance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The aim is to consider individual players’ physical conditions and avoid imposing unrealistic demands.

“Whatever advice we get from the NCA — say, suppose somebody’s body is not able to handle both white-ball and red-ball cricket — so we do not want to impose anything in that regard,” he explained.

Shah made it clear that the expectation is for all centrally contracted players to actively participate in red-ball cricket unless there are valid fitness concerns. The chairman of the selection committee will have the autonomy to make decisions based on individual circumstances.

“Everyone will have to play; otherwise, the chairman of the selection committee has given me his suggestions, and I am going to give him a free hand to let him take his calls freely,” Shah concluded, emphasizing the importance of balancing players’ commitments to ensure optimal performance and health in the upcoming T20-dominated season.