World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev has suggested cricketers raising concerns over jam-packed schedules and fatigues to skip the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The comments come in the wake of players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul complaining about tight schedules and burn-out issue.
India have played continuous cricket in the last few years and the cricketers have hardly had any time to relax. The Men in Blues started the year with a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, followed by another three-match ODI series against Australia before travelling to New Zealand for a series across the formats.
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Virat Kohli & Co thrashed the Kiwis 5-0 in the T20Is before suffering a whitewash in the ODIs followed by a drubbing in the first Test in Wellington. They are currently in their last leg of the tour with the final Test commencing from tomorrow. India will look to finish the tour on a high before shifting their focus to South Africa before the IPL fever sets in.
The jam-packed schedule is certainly to take a toll on the cricketer’s body and Kapil Dev has suggested giving the franchise-based league a miss to keep themselves fresh with ICC T20 World Cup looming large.
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“If you think there is burnout then don’t play IPL,” Kapil told reporters during the occasion of the fifth edition of HCL Grant’s felicitation ceremony. There you are not representing your country. So if you think you are burnt out, you can always take a break during the IPL. When you are representing your country, the feeling should be different,” he added.
Notably, most of the Indian cricketers will take part in the upcoming IPL except Cheteshwar Pujara, who once again went unsold during the auctions. In conclusion, Kapil Dev also admitted that he faced burn out at times during his playing days.
