Less Breathing Space Between T20 World Cup, IPL; Will Mental Fatigue Impact Players In USA And West Indies?

New Delhi: Fatigue can play a big role in the upcoming T20 World Cup starting next month in USA and West Indies. Not just for the Indian players but the overseas cricketers as well. The breathing space between the recently concluded Indian Premier League and the T20 World Cup is just a week. With IPL, there comes two months of non-stop cricketing action along with travelling. Although the duration of T20 World Cup is short, the mental fatigue of players travelling from one city to another will definitely become a factor.
The players who weren’t a part of the IPL playoffs have got a bit of rest. But the ones who played till the end, it’s tough for them. Take the case of Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc. The Australians trio were a part of the IPL 2024 final and has been given a short break before flying out to the Caribbean. As a result, Australia were forced to field support staff as fielders against Namibia in their warm-up game on Wednesday.
For the Indian team, the BCCI decided to send the players in batches. While majority of the players flew to United States in the first phase, the Rajasthan Royals quartet went of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal went a little late. However, Virat Kohli is yet to join the side due to pending paperwork.
Playing back-to-back big events like IPL and T20 World Cup can be taxing to the body. While one might debate that it keeps the players within the game, but at the same time managing the mental fatigue could be an issue with some. Heading into a tournament like World Cup, one needs to go in with a fresh mind. Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey stated that they have plans in place to deal with the same.
“The skill part is taken care of, the workload is taken care of that’s great, (but) as you rightly said it is the mental bit to be able to understand where the person is,” Mhambrey said in an interview. “What is important is having that conversation with everyone, that’s what I will generally do, ‘okay tell me where are you right now in terms of what is your expectation, what do you want to do?
“The onus is on the individual, it starts from the individual himself. I want to do this, then as a support staff it is our job to help him,” he added. However, Starc, who starred in Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 title-winning campaign, feels otherwise and played down the workload issue after the final.
“T20 is not as physically demanding as Test cricket and it’s been warm, humid, so that plays a part but that’s fine. It would be cooler there in the West Indies than here,” said Starc, IPL costliest player with a Rs 24.75 crore price tag. With the tournament starting on June 1, it remains to be seen whether the in-form players continue their run in the T20 World Cup as well.