How can you blame Gambhir?

In his prime, Kapil Dev was renowned as a player who just didn’t breakdown.  He missed only one Test during his entire career — the one against England in 1984 — and that was also not due to cricketing reasons. Among the batsmen, the longest streak of playing Test matches goes to Rahul Dravid who played 93 matches before missing a Test against England in 2005 due to gastroenteritis. These two are part of an increasingly rare breed of cricketers who managed to keep injury at bay – a task that’s looking impossible given the crowded itinerary that the Board of Control for Cricket tends to draw up for the cricketers year after year. It isn’t just a cricket season; it’s a monster schedule that’s designed to grind players to dust. That’s the first thought which emerged when one heard of yet another India player falling prey to injury. This time round, it is stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir who has managed to aggravate his injury – a while back it was Virender Sehwag, before that it was Ashish Nehra. It’s a list that seems to be getting longer with every match being played. [caption id=“attachment_16205” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Gambhir’s case is typical— got injured during the World Cup, didn’t tell anyone then, brought it to franchisee physiotherapist’s notice later, was instantly put on ‘injury management’. Image AFP”]  [/caption] Gambhir’s case is typical— got injured during the World Cup, didn’t tell anyone then, brought it to franchisee physiotherapist’s notice later, was instantly put on ‘injury management’. But it turns out when you are desperately trying to win a game, you don’t quite pay heed to the physio’s suggestion. The result: an injury that requires complete rest – no batting or fielding. So what was he doing playing the Indian Premier League play-offs? Well, that’s a topic for another day. But for now the more pressing subject is the kind of stress that the schedule is putting on the players— giving them no time to rest and recuperate. Given that this was a World Cup year, one would expect the workload to be more than normal but one look at the team’s itinerary since October last year and you’d be convinced that no one could survive unscathed. It all started with the Test and ODI series against Australia at home. That was followed by a series against New Zealand, again at home. After that there was a quick flight across to South Africa for more cricket. The journey back home was filled with thoughts about the World Cup. But there was no rest to be had as there were sponsor commitments to be fulfilled. By February 8, the camp was in order and that in turn led to the practice games. To cut a really long story short, by the time we’ve made our way to September, the Indian team would have played 32 ODIs, 15 Tests and 3 T20Is. That’s just about the kind of workload the ICC is said to recommend, even though it’s stretching the limit too far. So far, so good. But we haven’t even touched upon the monstrosity that is the IPL or the Champions League that will follow. Add that into the mix, and you know the players don’t have it easy. In fact, theirs is a job that many shouldn’t envy. At first sight, it seems like there are gaps in the schedule. A week here, a little more there but then think again. Between tours, there’s the whole thing about keeping sponsors happy, preparing for the next tour and getting some rest if possible. And once on tour, there is simply no downtime. You think about the game 24 x 7. It cannot be easy. And it isn’t. The BCCI has a simple answer to this question: we are not asking them to play every game. But shouldn’t the whole idea be get your best players to play all the time rather than the other way round. The moment you start telling your best players to a take a break, you are in a sense encouraging mediocrity. Because, in effect, the message you are sending to the second rung is ‘wait, the seniors will rest and you will get your turn.’ The board also tends to believe that unless our every waking hour is occupied with cricket, the sport will cease to remain relevant. They couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, it just might work the other way round. Get cricket out of our faces for a while and when we eventually get back to watching it, we’ll love the game even more. Now, that can’t be a bad thing, can it? India’s schedule: A table