The player decides whether to play or not: IPL CEO

As more flak hits the Indian Premier League following yet another player breakdown due to injury, IPL CEO Sundar Raman sought to clear the air once and for all. For a long time, the rumour on the cricket circuit has been that the IPL franchisees and the Board of Control for Cricket in India are the ones that ‘ensure’ the availability of stars for the tournament despite their very hectic schedules. But Raman says that in no instance has the player been forced to play for his club. [caption id=“attachment_16760” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“Indian Premier League CEO Sundar Raman says the player decides if or not he will play. Getty Images”]  [/caption] “I think it has always been up to the player to decide,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Firstly, he has to see whether he is fit or not. And the BCCI physio will take a look at the player and subject to a satisfactory report, he plays. “The player knows his body better than anyone else does and I don’t think I want to sit in judgement on that. If the physio believes that the player is not fit to play a game, he would report that and the player would not play the game. “Nobody is forced to play. Nobody is forced to play for the country. Nobody is forced to play for their club.” Raman’s comments come in the wake of Gautam Gambhir’s injury controversy which may see him miss the West Indies tour where he was due to captain India in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “I don’t think any player would want to carry or feign an injury and continue to go and play. A player knows his body. I believe they are professionals and if the player is injured, if there are any practices or processes that have not been put in place, that is for the administrative part of it to ensure that all of that is taken care of. “The player takes the view of somebody who is an expert in that field and I think that’s the way it is. I am looking at it as what would I have done? I would have listened to my body.” Really, we are not concerned about whether Raman would have listened to his body or not. We are more concerned as to why Gambhir didn’t do that. Time and again, Raman has repeated that the players know their body best. But indeed, if that is the case then what are all the physiotherapists and doctors being paid for? If you leave the cricketing decisions to the players, then it makes sense. But decisions related to injuries are perhaps best dealt by the experts in that field, namely doctors. However, Raman’s had his say, now we wait for Gambhir’s salvo.