Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun suggested that the team management should think about resting bowlers when an important series is approaching. He added that players who are rested could be compensated for skipping those matches so that they remain fresh and prepared for future challenges.
The ex-Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach further noted that bowlers could also use such breaks to work on specific areas of their game.
Speaking to The Times of India, he said: “For a fast bowler, playing too much cricket doesn’t give you enough time to work on the physical front. So yes, this definitely can be looked into (on prioritising series), and people like (Jasprit) Bumrah or any other bowler, who we feel are very important for us to do well in one particular series, we can make sure that they can be rested if there is a series that is nothing, and he can also be aptly compensated for that.”
“If he is aptly compensated, and then if he is told by BCCI because he’s on contract, we want you to work on this particular aspect of your game, which I think is fair enough”.
Bharat Arun Explains Workload Management For Bowlers
In recent times, the term workload management has become quite significant in Indian cricket. According to Bharat Arun, the concept mainly relates to what bowlers do after a match, as it is largely determined by the number of overs they have bowled. He explained:
“You are human. There is so much cricket going around. If you want to be the best, especially fast bowling takes a huge toll on you. It is not about not playing; it is about preparing your body to play any kind of cricket. It may be Test cricket, ODIs, or T20s. Preparing you to be successful in that format. In Tests, there is no guarantee as to how many overs I will bowl.”
“Overall, in a Test match, you would bowl somewhere between 40-50 overs. Workload management is about what you do post-match because you can’t control how many overs a bowler bowls in a match. Post-match, how do I manage him so that before the next game, he’s fully fit?” Arun added.
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