IPL 2023: Rohit Sharma clears speculation about his absence, Mark Boucher comments

When the third One-Day International (ODI) match between India and Australia finished last week, captain Rohit Sharma was asked a question that everyone had been thinking about: Will certain Indian cricketers’ workloads be managed during the IPL 2023’s busy two months? 

This was a valid point given that India have a World Cup to play later this year and cannot afford to not have their star players available for the ICC event, and there has been a sharp increase in injuries to Indian players like Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer.

The Indian captain’s response to this was unmistakable. Even though the BCCI has given the IPL teams some instructions, the players now belong to the franchises and will decide how to manage their workload on their own. 

The world wasn’t ready to learn that Rohit might also fall into that category, despite the fact that Rohit’s statements made perfect sense. On Wednesday, a report completed by The Indian Express proposed that Rohit could skirt several counterparts for Mumbai Indians in the IPL to deal with his responsibility and that in his nonattendance, Suryakumar Yadav will captain the team.

The burning question was addressed to Rohit Sharma during MI’s first press conference of the season, with Sharma dropping a massive hint that it could be a possibility

“In terms of me resting, I think Mark (Boucher) will give you an answer to that,” he said. To this, the team’s coach Boucher added: “Do you want to rest?

“In regards to resting Rohit, he is the captain. Hopefully he gets into some good sort of form and I hope he doesn’t want to rest. But yeah, we all adapt to different situations. If I can get the best out of him as a captain and player, that will be great. If it means he wants to rest 1 or 2 games, then I will do that. Absolutely, no problem.”

he said.

Due to injuries, a slew of star-studded players have already missed the IPL, and Rohit would, in all honesty, want to take care of his health. The captain of India has sustained injuries far too frequently for his liking. Rohit has suffered injuries to his calf in 2021 and his hamstring in 2022 since he was made India’s full-time captain in January 2022. 

In addition, he contracted Covid last year, which caused him to miss the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Edgbaston. In December, Rohit had to have a stitch put in his thumb during the ODI series against Bangladesh, which prevented him from playing in any Tests.

Now that he has a second chance to win the World Cup, Rohit wants to keep his key players and himself in the best physical shape. With India playing several home and away bilateral series in addition to the much-anticipated Asia Cup, workload management will be one of the most important aspects surrounding the Indian team in the seven months leading up to the World Cup.