Each Player Has Different Requirements: Sachin on Workload Debate

The Master Blaster echoed the sentiments of Indian captain Virat Kohli on the much-debated issue ahead of IPL 2019.

Sachin Tendulkar is seen speaking to the Mumbai Indians team during the 2018 season, in the trailer of the Netflix docu-series.

(Photo: Netflix)

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar believes there cannot be a uniform structure for workload management during the Indian Premier League as each player has a different set of requirements.

The build-up to the upcoming IPL 2019 has seen fervent debate around the need for India’s World Cup-bound players to effectively manage their workload through the demanding schedule, and the ‘Master Blaster’ weighed in with his thoughts on Monday, 18 March.

“Preparation before the World Cup is different for each player and so their workload management will also be different.”

Sachin Tendulkar to PTI

Tendulkar agreed with skipper Virat Kohli, who recently left it up to the players to decide the kind of load they are taking.

“To me, momentum is important. Every individual should be smart enough to assess if he needs to take a break or he needs to play games to stay in the thick of things. So the responsibility is on the individual to take a call,” said the world's highest run-getter in Tests and One Day Internationals.

The 45-year-old then gave an example of how workload management works differently for different players.

“As a pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s workload will be very different from a pure batsman like Virat Kohli and a wicket-keeper batsman like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. All these players have a lot of experience and they will certainly make the right call.”

Sachin Tendulkar to PTI

Tendulkar, who will continue to mentor three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, largely echoed Kohli’s sentiments from a pre-tournament press conference in Bengaluru on Saturday, 16 March.

“If I'm able to play 10, 12 or 15 games, it doesn't necessarily mean that the other guy can only play that many. My body might demand I play a certain number of games and I need to be smart about that and rest,” the Indian skipper had said.

Kohli had also made it clear that it was up to individual players to deal with the issue to keep their body fit and be in contention for the ICC World Cup 2019 in England.

(With inputs from PTI)