Recently, there were lot of criticism heaped upon the England cricket team for their decision to rest certain players during different legs of their Indian tour. Though there is some reasoning behind such criticism, it is not difficult to understand the logic behind such a decision. Infact, this is much needed in such uncertain times. Let me try to analyse the logic behind resting players. Is it worthwhile? This piece is not only about England resting players but an overall analysis of why this is very much required.
England are coming off of an extremely successful series in Sri Lanka where they won 2-0. The main architect of that series win as ofcourse Joe Root but there were some valuable contributors as well including Jos Buttler & Johnny Bairstow. England have already sent Bairstow back to England and Buttler will return to England after the first test. The reasoning given behind such a decision was to ensure their availability throughout the season that includes India’s tour of England, World T20 & The Ashes.
International schedule
England are slated to play 9 tests against India, 2 against Sri Lanka, 5 tests against Australia and a couple against Pakistan within the next 12 months. That is a mindboggling 17 tests in 12 months. Added to this is the World T20, hosts of other ODIs and ofcourse IPL for a selected few.
India on the otherhand will be involved in the same 9 tests against England, 3 against South Africa and knowing the BCCI, few more during the Indian season bearing in mind that they have already played 2 tests this year. Unlike England, every Indian cricketer will be part of an IPL team. World T20 and other ODIs. Australia, South Africa will also be playing similar volume of games with the rest not so much.
Living in unprecedented times
As can be seen from above, these are lot of games for a majority of the teams. Even under normal circumstances, it is really tough for the players to play so many games. For the bowlers it is much more tougher. Just imagine the load on every bowler. Added to that is the fact that the players are forced to live under bio-secure bubble. This will add to the mental tiredness for all the players. Under the prevailing circumstances, the only option in front of the board and the players is to rotate the players. Especially, the fast bowlers. This will not only ensure the longevity of the players but will also ensure that they have the energy to contribute to the game that the rested players will eventually play.
This brings us to another question. Is it wise to rest important players like Bairstow or Buttler from important series? This is difficult to answer unless the replacement is good enough in the first place. Is this is not the case, the decision to leave out your good players will look a poorly advised one.
For a country like India, this must never really be a problem because of the sheer resources at the board’s disposal. However, for New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka, they may not be able to rest and rotate players as and when they want because the number of talented players is less.
India showed the virtue of rotating players though out of force and not through any planning. Not only were they able to turn the series around, they have found more than a few players who will be an asset for the team for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
I honestly think that the days of players playing for more than 13-15 years are numbered. With increasing number of playing days, only the exceptional players will be able to last that long. The rest will fade away in 8-10 years. Unless, players are managed properly, this will become reality.