‘It's all up to the franchises now’ - Rohit Sharma on workload management during IPL 2023

Team India faced a 1-2 defeat to Australia in the three-match ODI series at home. This was India’s first home series defeat in the 50-over format since 2019. As the series was tied at 1-1 after the second ODI, the Kangaroos produced their best performance, scoring a competitive score of 269 in the series decider in Chennai on Wednesday, March 22. Meanwhile, during the chase, the Men in Blue were restricted to 248 with five balls to spare.

Following the series defeat, India skipper Rohit Sharma spoke to the media about the side’s disappointing outing in ODIs. The star batter also addressed the workload management concerns ahead of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Notably, Indian players have a packed calendar ahead with IPL, followed by the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia on June 7. Moreover, India will also be hosting the ODI World Cup later this year. 

Rohit was asked whether there would be workload management in focus during the IPL. However, the 35-year-old said that the Indian team management have pointed out the concerns over players’ fitness, and at the end of the day it's the franchises’ decision. He also said that the players should take care of themselves to stay fit.

“It's all up to the franchises now. Franchises own them. We have given indications, some kind of borderline thing to teams, but at the end of the day, it's up to the franchise,” Rohit said.

“And most importantly, the players. They have to take care of their own body, they're all adults. They have to look after their body, if they feel it's getting a little too much, they can talk about it and have a break for one or two games,” he added. 

'We have our best 15 players ready'- says Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma went on to talk about the injury concerns in the team.  The 35-year-old said that missing quality players is a major concern but others are trying to give their best for the team. He also revealed that the team management has narrowed down to 15 players for the ODI World Cup later this year.

“It is concerning, if players aren't available. You're missing players who are in playing XI. Honestly, everyone's trying their best. We've been focussing on management of players. We have to rest certain players for certain point of time. We could do our best in terms of handling them.

I'm no specialist to tell you about recurring injuries. The medical team is looking into all of this and making sure that in the World Cup, we have our best 15 players ready,” Rohit concluded.

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