David Warner fears burn out for players owing to taxing fixtures
What’s the story?
Australia's stand-in T20 captain David Warner is not entirely convinced with the schedule chalked out for the players and has voiced his concerns over players being burnt out due to the taxing fixtures and relentless cricket being played.
Warner conceded that the Test players who took part in the Ashes-winning campaign should have been rested in the ODI series, which the hosts lost by a convincing margin of 4-1.
"In hindsight, you can say yes (given) the way that we performed. But even if we performed as well, you probably would have got a break as well," Warner was as quoted by cricket.com.au.
The details
Warner also said that Australia could look towards England as far as rotating players and roping in white-ball specialists for the limited overs format is concerned.
He further said that England had as many as four players who played both the Tests and ODIs and this reflected in their approach.
The skipper also said that the T20 team is winning all the matches primarily because the players have been plucked out from Big Bash League and specialists have really expressed themselves on the field.
In case you didn’t know…
Earlier, captain Steve Smith had also said that he needed to take a break from cricket after the Ashes and ODI series had drained him mentally.
After conceding the five-match ODI series 4-1, the T20 side led by David Warner have been on a roll and have won all their matches in the T20 tri-nation series to book a berth in the finals.
What’s next?
Australia will now face New Zealand in the final of the T20 tri-series tournament.
Following this, they will travel to South Africa for a full-fledged bilateral series which will include Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.
Author’s take
This particular assessment which has now been echoed by Warner gives an indication of the mental fatigue the players suffer and the different boards should take cognisance of these opinions while picking players and slotting them into different formats.