IPL 2023: World Test Championship (WTC) Final is scheduled to start just a week after the IPL 2023 Final and the Indian team is already struggling from few injury concerns. Ravi Shastri, former Indian Captain and Head Coach believes the Indian board (BCCI) needs to talk to the IPL franchises to allow players with a necessary break.
“Even during the IPL the board has to tell the franchise, listen we need him, India needs him, so for India’s sake, if he doesn’t play those games it will be good,” Shastri told The Indian Express on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) in Doha.
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Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah are all receiving medical treatment for their injuries. The issue for the board is to ensure that the Indian team for the WTC final is neither injured nor exhausted. The final of WTC is set to begin just a week after the IPL concludes.
“Volume of cricket has increased. Rest period is getting decreased, this is where establishment and players have to sit across the table. They need to be told that you need that much break and give them so much game to play,” Shastri said.
Shastri claimed that during his playing career, the players were able to play eight to ten years of cricket with ease.
KL Rahul or KS Bharat for the WTC final
Shastri feels KL Rahul should keep wickets ahead of KS Bharat during the WTC final against Australia that is to be played in June. Rahul kept wickets during the first ODI between India and Australia at Wankhede Stadium on 18th Match and also keeps for his IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
“KL Rahul should keep behind the wickets in the WTC, as Rishabh Pant is not there. In England seamers will bowl more, so the keeper will be standing behind most of the time. He will strengthen the batting at numbers 5-6 and he did well in the ODI game in Mumbai. KS Bharat is a newcomer, it is not the case that we have to play him. Bharat will learn with exposure. And in these big games, one has to weigh all the options,” Shastri added.
Two BIG tournaments for Team India in 2023
The Indian team is set to play 2 big tournaments coming this year: the WTC final in England and the ODI World Cup in India. The Indian team hasn’t won any multi-nation title in the last 10 years despite being ranked number 1 in all formats on several occasions. Shastri believes a bit of luck is needed to win big tournaments but also thinks India is due for some big wins in the future.
“I think India is due, we have been consistent. We have reached semis and finals on a regular basis. You look at Sachin Tendulkar, he has to play six World Cups to win the ICC World Cup Trophy. He achieved it in his last World Cup. Look at Messi, a classic example. When he started to win, he won the Copa America and then the World Cup and he scored also.
“So wait, it will rain,” he explained, pointing out the record of other teams as well. “Look at England, they won the title after 40 years, when it came it came in bulk.”
Can Kohli break Tendulkar’s hundred 100s record?
Virat Kohli seems to have gotten his mojo back, hitting hundreds in white-ball cricket and now in Tests. Speculations have once again begun on whether he can break Sachin Tendulkar’s hundred 100’s record. Shastri believes Kohli has around 5-6 years worth of cricket left in him.
“He has got a lot of cricket to play, he is a fit man and can play cricket. When a player is in such a class when their meter starts, they hit runs quickly. Like they will get seven hundreds in 15 games. He has still 5-6 years of cricket left under him. It’s not easy to thing (to reach 100,100’s) but it’s a big thing. The volume of cricket is too much. When I was a coach we were playing multiple formats simultaneously. You have to see what’s important and choose formats accordingly,” he points out.
On this day in 2016 – Virat Kohli won the player of the match award for scoring 55*(37) against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
This match will be remembered for the gesture shown by Kohli towards Sachin – one of the most beautiful moments in Indian cricket. pic.twitter.com/MJz8GoTQYg
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 19, 2023
Reduce ODIs to 40-over games
Shastri feels ICC should try to shorten ODIs into a 40-over game, keeping in mind the attention spans of viewers these days. “They (fans) want action, they want short and sweet. If a 40 overs game happens, one will see all three formats of the game surviving,” he says.
Central contracted players should play more domestic cricket
Shastri wants the BCCI to put a clause in players contract that makes it mandatory to play a specified number of domestic matches every year.
“Be it anyone. Batsmen can get better in playing spin, as Dal-Chawal (main staple) in domestic cricket are our spinners. The more one plays the better they will be.”
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