BCCI asks Indian players to increase their workload with WTC final in mind: Reports
Team India are set to face Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played just over a week after the IPL 2023 final. This has generated a lot of buzz around the workload management of the players who may feature in the final, particularly the fast bowlers.
While there have been talks about certain players being told to look after their bodies during the IPL 2023 campaign, there are contrasting reports right now.
According to Cricbuzz, some Indian players, particularly fast bowlers, have been assigned targets concerning the number of overs that they should bowl ahead of the WTC final. One shouldn't be surprised if they see some pacers bowl with the red ball in the nets during the practice sessions in IPL 2023.
The thought behind this reportedly is that with some training sessions being optional and with travel scheduled to different venues, the players may remain undercooked for the all-important final.
So the idea of giving bowling targets would be to get the players into a rhythm for the longest format by the time they reach England.
I know my body well and can handle workload: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami could be crucial to India's chances of winning the WTC final. The pacer has been in superb form of late and is one of the key players when it comes to monitoring workload management.
However, Shami is pretty confident that he will stay fit for the WTC final and has an idea on how to manage his workload. Here's what he was quoted as saying recently by Cricbuzz:
"There's still time for the WTC Final and the World Cup and as a player, it is not possible to think that long-term. You need to be smart in terms of managing your workload. When you play international cricket, you know how much you need to work on. You understand your body well and that's why you should not think long term and take it series by series. I know my body well and can handle workload, so I am taking it match by match."
India will want to give themselves the best chance of winning the WTC final and for that, they cannot afford more injuries.