WILL REST ROHIT IF HE NEEDS BREAK: BOUCHER

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher said that he would have “no problem” in resting Rohit Sharma during the league stage of the Indian Premier League 2023 provided the captain is able to find form with the bat.

When the 16th edition of the IPL is on, the focus will also be on the workload management of the national team players, including Rohit, who will lead India in the World Test Championship final in June and the 50-over World Cup in October-November.

Rohit, when asked if he was open to take rest in a few IPL firstround matches, preferred to have the question answered by Boucher. “In regards to resting Rohit, he is the captain. Hopefully he gets into some sort of form and hopefully does not want to rest, but we will adapt to whatever the situation is,” Boucher said in the franchise’s pre-tournament press conference here on Wednesday.

Rohit had scored only 268 runs in 14 innings in the previous edition, in which Mumbai finished at the bottom of the table. “If I can get the best out of him as a captain and as a player, it will be great. It means that if he wants to rest for one or two games, then I will do that. No problem,” Boucher added.

‘We should not talk about workload in T20’

Boucher also opined that the incessant talk about workload management in T20 cricket is overrated since the other two formats (50 overs and Test) are more punishing on the body.

“It is amazing that we are even talking about workload in T20 cricket. Probably about 10 or 15 years ago, we would not be having this conversation. Workload is something… we have the science behind it, we have got the trainers and we have got the guys who give us the data,” said Boucher.

“There is a lot of talk about workload but if you look at our (MI’s) schedule, we have got quite a bit of rest in between. We can try and look after every player and I do not see workload being a major issue for us throughout the IPL. Sometimes, the media and people look too much into workload in T20 cricket.

“Test cricket and one-day cricket are tough on the body, T20 cricket is short. We should not be talking about workload in T20 cricket with all due respect,” explained the former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter.

Hopefully he gets into some sort of form and hopefully does not want to rest, but we will adapt to whatever the situation is

Mark Boucher on resting Rohit Sharma