Player Rotation Policy in Cricket – Opinion – Part 1
Cricket as a sport is gaining more popularity in the contemporary world now more than ever. Continuously evolving as a sport since its inception, newer versions of the game have come into existence such as the Twenty20 (20 overs per side) following the One
Day Internationals (50 overs per side), as compared to the traditional 5-day format known as Test cricket.
With the changes, the work load of the players around the world has increased significantly, giving birth to a new concept so to speak, that of a ‘rotation policy’.
Player rotation policy basically revolves around the idea of resting players in turn to avoid exposing them to injuries. With increasing commercialism in the sport, the number of games being played around the world has also increased. This in turn means
more work load for international players, who may have to feature in back-to-back competitions without much rest.
A bilateral series between two countries, which once only featured Tests and ODIs, now has T20 matches as regular additions. The advent of the shortest format has marked the arrival of T20 leagues as well, such as the Indian Premier League, The Champions
League, The Australian Big Bash League etc, apart from the international http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 events and bilateral competitions.
The advent of such leagues has also globalised the game, where players from different countries play under one flag, as opposed to competing against one another on the basis of nationality.
If we look at the statistics now, the number of injuries that have taken place in the past couple of years compared to a decade ago, have increased significantly, warranting some sort of policy review over the scheduling of players in a calendar year.
Modern cricketers are now programmed to perform across all three formats on short notices. However, having a policy over rotation of players caught momentum after the tri-nation series between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 at the start of this year.
A contemporary cricketer has a face-paced life and many do not have the time to take a break and reflect on their physical condition, an idea veteran Australian batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377 shares, “As much as you kid youself sometimes as an international player,
and you feel that you're 100 per cent right for every game, it's not until you take a step back and realise how tired you are that the penny starts to drop.”
If we look back at the past month or so, several players around the world have suffered injuries and have been ruled out of the game for varying periods of time. This is not only an inconvenience for the teams, but hampers long-term planning and development.
The recent bilateral series between Australia and South Africa showed how excessive workloads affect players.
A couple of players from both sides had to be left out for games (or the entire tournament) after suffering from injuries. The Aussies had to suffer the worst when they lost http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BW-Hilfenhaus-c1204
exhausted themselves in the 2nd Test and were deemed unfit for the last. The Kangaroos, without their main bowlers, were unable to restrict the Proteas in the final clash and consequently lost the series.
Adapting to change is never an easy task. However, seeing a few nations like Australia, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 being more open towards the new approach, other nations may follow suit soon.
Continued in part 2…
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