BROKEN ARROWS?

Fans will eventually find a way to deal with their evenings without fours and sixes. The ICC, too, is confident that regular use of the T20 recreational drug isn’t a cause of concern. Cricket, it seems, is in the pink of health. But what about the cricketers?

As of today, the last 38 days have had a total of 81 Indian cricketers — 24 of who are in the scheme of things of the national selectors — having taken 14 flights each, lived out of suitcases and spent each day either on the field or in the air. The fitness report of former physio John Gloster after the Australia series and the post-IPL international itinerary of Team India (see boxes) is an indicators of how jaded the bodies in those trendy coloured clothing have been, and what their workload will be in the days to follow.

It could be the numbing effect of the over-flowing adrenalin within that the players, for a change, haven’t complained. Young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who is enjoying a memorable IPL stint with Kings XI Punjab, even jokes about the seemingly never-ending travel schedule. “Preity Zinta has been travelling with us to every match and she’s enjoying it too,” he says while speaking about the most-visible franchise owner on the circuit. On a serious note, he confesses that it has been hectic but this isn’t a moan as he is quick to add, “In today’s competitive cricket, one has to adhere to such tight calendars. I don’t think fitness will suffer, these are demands of modern-day cricket.”

Another new kid on the block, Ishant Sharma, too, isn’t a nervous traveller. Nor does he complain about too much cricket. “All the teams in the tournament have hired good support staff. In Kolkata, we have fitness and strength trainers to take care of us,” says the bowler from Delhi, who has bowled non-stop for Kolkata Knight Riders. Sharma says he is in great shape for the international games ahead. “Cricket toh ab itna zyaada ho gaya hai, what to do? (there is so much cricket these days, what can one do?)” he says.

But there is another school of thought that says this non-complaining attitude of the players is because of the pro-rata payments of the IPL. For example, if Ishant — who was bought by Kolkata for a whopping US $ 900,000 (approx Rs 3.6 crore) — would have played half his quota of matches, he would have been paid just half the amount due to him.

And there are some who add that once international games start, the injury complaints will start again. The reason: BCCI’s contracted players get their retainer-money in full regardless of them missing games due to injury or loss of form. There are also dangers that players who have taken the field for IPL games despite niggles or minor injuries might suffer breakdown during international series.

In contrast to the views expressed by the youngsters, Team India coach Gary Kirsten is a worried man. Besides being constantly in touch with the India internationals, he is also concerned about the condition in which he will get them after the IPL stint.

The Sunday Express has now learnt that Kirsten, who is arriving in India on May 30, the day of the selection, has asked for a comprehensive fitness report of all the players. The priority, informs a member of Kirsten’s support staff, is to have a pool of players who are fit enough to endure the full season ahead. The coach is keen to have an interaction with India’s bench-strength and take a stock of the arsenal at his disposal.

May the devil get its due, the IPL has done its bit for the pool that Kirsten is keen on. A few new faces have cropped up during the last month and some forgotten faces have managed to get back into the spotlight. MS Gony and Ashoke Dinda can be part of the pace bench which seemed vacant some time back due to injuries and burnouts. And with old-timers like Ashish Nehra and L Balaji too getting their rhythm back after injuries, the selectors won’t be tongue-tied when it comes to naming fast bowlers. As for the batting department, names such as S Badrinath, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao might once again figure in selection committee meetings.

But does this pool have depth? And do T20 performances really qualify players for the Test and ODI bench? The jury is out, or like most in the country, it has been too busy figuring which teams will reach the last four of the IPL.