For T20 World Cup hopefuls, IPL teams are to provide fitness updates to the NCA.
While the Indian Premier League season 2024 is on the horizon, the top priority of Team India is the T20 World Cup. Fitness and workload management will always be under the scanner. The BCCI can’t force the franchises to rest key players, but teams will have to regularly provide updates to the NCA.
Following the conclusion of the IPL 2024, the players will fly to the USA for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. As a result, the fitness of the Indian stars will be a major lookout for the BCCI.
The apex cricket board of the country won’t pass any workload management to the IPL teams. But they want to be in the know regarding the condition of the players. As a result, the medical updates for players who will play in the T20 World Cup will be regularly sent to NCA Sports Science head Nitin Patel.
A senior BCCI official said, “They are being paid highly, and they can’t pick and choose games for franchises. But yes, for all those centrally contracted and targetted players (next lot), the franchise’s support staff will have to regularly provide fitness updates to NCA Sports Science head Nitin Patel.”
Furthermore, the T20 World Cup hopefuls who miss out on the IPL knockouts will be sent to the USA earlier. On the other hand, those who play the knockouts will be sent later, when the IPL ultimately ends.