6 Indian cricketers who shouldn't take part in IPL 2019
Indian cricket team which recently won the Asia Cup recently is quite busy for the next few months. Firstly, the Indian team is currently playing against the West Indies before they travel to the southern hemisphere. Just 10 days after playing against West Indies, India will be competing against Australia. After that India will travel to New Zealand, which will be India's last international assignment before the World Cup of 2019.
But before the prestigious quadrennial tournament, most Indian cricketers have to go through a gruelling extravaganza called the Indian Premier League. The next year's IPL might be a bit more tiresome for the cricketers as the tournament is expected to involve more travelling than usual due to the 2019 general elections in India.
Months before the tournament begins, IPL has already started affecting India's plans for the World Cup. Originally, India was supposed to kick-start their World Cup on 2nd June but will now start their campaign on 5th June to maintain the mandatory 15-day gap between the Indian Premier League and India's international commitments. IPL will be scheduled to finish by May 19 so India can only start their World Cup campaign earliest by June 4 in order to follow the regulations set by Supreme Cout appointed Lodha Committee.
With a very little gap between the Indian Premier League and the World Cup, the risk of losing a key player to injury or fitness issues is high. Even if the player hasn't sustained any injury the toll on player's body due to participation in IPL might restrict a player from giving his best in the quadrennial championship. With the stakes being high, BCCI might have to take a decision soon at least regarding the participation of a few key players. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Here is a compilation of the 6 key players India cannot afford to lose before the World Cup due to IPL:
*All stats in the article are updated till 7 October 2018*
*Disclaimer: The author understands how important these players are for their respective IPL franchises but does not want BCCI to risk these players before the World Cup. *
Also read: 5 reasons why India can win the 2019 World Cup
#6 Kedar Jadhav
The Indian cricket team which was once known for many part-time spin bowling options in their lineup bowlers is facing a unique situation right now. Amongst the top 6 batsmen in the current team, Kedar Jadhav is the only player who can offer his services with the ball.
During the 2011 World Cup won by India, they had at least five, sometimes six, spin bowling options - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina - in addition to the four frontline bowlers to cover the rest of the 10 overs. Now players like Virat Kohli do not bowl anymore, so losing Kedar Jadhav to an unforeseen circumstance would leave India with four frontline bowlers and the Hardik Pandya.
Kedar Jadhav's talent with the ball was identified by MS Dhoni and Anil Kumble in 2016 when he troubled the left-handed Kiwi batsmen. He has time and again proved his worth with the ball providing India with breakthroughs at the right moments. The presence of an additional bowler who can be measly and accurate provides a lot more balance to the side.
After suffering a hamstring injury in the opening match of the 2018 Indian Premier League, Jadhav had to stay away from cricket for six months. Once he regained his fitness he was straight away included in the limited overs team for Asia Cup. During the tournament, he instantly proved his worth with the bat and also with him low-arm accurate bowling. He also registered his best bowling figures of 3-23 during his matching winning performance against Pakistan in the group stage.