Can ageing India crack the Cup code?
ROAD AHEAD India could rely more on experience than youth at the 2019 event NEW DELHI:
The India ODI team is not a young man’s place it seems. With six players over 30, the current side at the Asia Cup is the oldest among the six competing teams. The Rohit Sharma-led side has an average age of 28.68 as compared to Hong Kong which has the lowest average age of 23.18. India, in fact, has the highest average age in the world, followed by New Zealand (28.30) and England (28.28).
Assuming at least 70% of this squad is retained for the 2019 World Cup, then the average age will only rise by the time India land in England. It will be considerably more than the team’s average age of 27.41 in the 2015 World Cup, where India had only two players over 30 — MS Dhoni and Stuart Binny.
Overage does not necessarily mean lower fitness levels while on the flipside, more experienced players should give this team a distinct edge. Going by their performance in the Asia Cup, it seems to be working out well so far. In fact, age doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for England and New Zealand, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the latest ICC ODI rankings.
YOUNG BLOOD
It, however, also points out to the fact that fewer young players are getting to play. In this Asia Cup, 20-year-old left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed has been the only player to make his India debut. He is also the youngest in the team. Compare this with Pakistan, who inducted 18-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, their bility. In short, tissue adaptability is greater in younger athletes than the older ones. Age is a criterion which we keep in mind when we determine the injury risk of a player,” Gloster said over phone from Dubai. “Generally, 30 is the age when we start looking at players a little differently in terms of tissue adaptability and their ability to recover quickly.”
Gloster added specialised training methods may decrease the chances of injury in athletes over 30. Dhoni is a prime example as he is known to have one of the best Yo-Yo test scores. “It’s important to modify the way you train. There cannot be a blanket exercise regime for players of all ages. Especially when playing in shorter formats like T20 the chances of injury is more due to its higher speed running intensity, to the range of 25 to 30% as compared to Tests and ODIs. It means the above 30 players need to be far better trained and conditioned. Focus needs to be put on their travelling schedule,” he said.