But this embodies the 21st century 24x365 cricket philosophy, where performance equates to fitness minus fatigue. That the contemporary cricketer should be equipped to handle this is implied in the ever-evolving kinetics of the game.
But unlike the European football clubs that fear the casualty calamities of country-rigours every time after a World Cup or Euro, it’s the country that anxiously watches the cash-strapped league, though the scenario in cricket is not as sensitive or debated at length as it is in European football.
Whereas more cynical boards can insist on their players to abstain from the IPL, though risking increasing player-fallout as in Kevin Pietersen’s case, the IPL-contracted Indian has to but go through the rigours, whether he likes it or not. It’s an obligation that comes from being an Indian.
Nonetheless, it’s not like the IPL is the sole villain in the piece--though the doomsayers are convinced otherwise--but the overall calendar itself is crammed. For instance, India have been playing non-stop cricket since November last year, crisscrossing either side of the Tasman Sea, logging more flyer points than even the most zestful peripatetic.
Someone like Virat Kohli, who spend 2,150-odd minutes at the crease and twice as many on the field, would barely manage a fortnight’s rest before RCB’s opening fixture against KKR But as former England off-spinner Graeme Swann quips, “batsmen should be shot if they complained of fatigue”.
Slightly unsympathetic to batsmen, despite his own teammate Jonathan Trott’s empathetic example. But that is the public perception, oblivious to the mental aspect of fatigue. “I don’t think the players will be fatigued by the World Cup, for they play just a match in a week. That doesn’t take much toll on the body.
But players need to take mental breaks, on and off. The IPL doesn’t deter it. I recently spoke about this to Virender Sehwag and he agreed that coaches these days understand this. So even if you miss a not-so important match or a practice session, it doesn’t matter much,” reckons former opener Aakash Chopra.
By the eighth edition, cricketers have accustomed to the schedule. “I had a private conversation with a present India player, and he told me he’d rather do something he really likes, that is to play competitive cricket. And if he is not yet used to this (calendar), he is in the wrong place,” Chopra maintains.
It’s the immediacy of India’s disturbing performances after a season of IPL that has gone into it being painted vicious. Soon after the inaugural edition, India toured Sri Lanka sans Mahendra Singh Dhoni and returned humbled, though it had to do more with Ajanta Mendis’ cryptic craft. Next year, they miserably failed to defend the T20 crown in England, losing all matches in the Super Eight. They were hit by Virender Sehwag’s shoulder injury, which he had sustained during the IPL.
The lightning rod for the critics of IPL is India’s calamitous tour to England, three months the World Cup high. Sehwag, again, drew flak as he reportedly played the IPL with a shoulder injury and deferred the surgery. By the midway stage of the much-hyped series, India’s two most experienced bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, were on sickbay. And promptly the blame fell on the IPL, though in reality, it was more a case of an ageing side dismantled by a clinical counterpart in the favourable climes of home.
But for IPL’s defence is the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, prefaced by the most controversial edition of the IPL. Like last year, India would begin their post-IPL season with a trip to Bangladesh, before touring Sri Lanka. A stretch of negative results, and the knives will be out at the IPL. Sure it has stuffed the calendar to spark saturation talks, but as Chopra underlines, if a player can’t deal with the demands of the modern-game, he is in the wrong place. But try selling that to the layman.
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