Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur on March 3 smashed his maiden century to help Mumbai recover from 106/7 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semifinal. Thakur battled ankle-related issues during his 105-run knock which helped Mumbai turn the tables on Day 2. After the quickfire ton, Thakur had a suggestion for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which will help the players dodge injuries in the next season of Ranji Trophy.
“It's difficult because we are playing first-class games in (a) three days' gap — that has never happened in Ranji Trophy season ever,” Thakur told the media at BKC Ground, Mumbai.
“You know the schedule is becoming tighter and tighter. If boys keep playing like this for two more seasons, there will be lot of injuries across the country.
“Next year, they (the BCCI) have to re-look at it and give more break,” he added.
Three-day gap is not enough
Thakur recalled that a few seasons ago, there was a longer break between matches in the Ranji Trophy.
“When I remember playing Ranji Trophy back in the days, good 7-8 years back, (the) first three games used to have (a) three-day break and then it was (a) four-day break and knockouts were played on five-day breaks.
“Now this year, we have seen that all the games have been played on (a) three-day gap. It is extremely tough on domestic players to expect them to play ten games in a row with just (a) three-days gap if (a) team makes it to the finals.
“Also, when nine teams were in the group, one team would get a break in (the) round-robin system. Now only eight teams being in one group, everyone plays each other, so that break has gone now,” Thakur added.
Mumbai pacer faced issues due to quick turnaround
To justify his point, Thakur explained it with Mumbai team pacer Mohit Avasthi who got injured as there was not enough time for him to recover between games.
“Yeah, 100 per cent because Mohit (Avasthi) also had an injury in the sixth game,” he said.
Avasthi missed the game against Chandigarh after he struggled with his hamstring.
“He played five games in a row. He had a huge workload because Tushar (Deshpande) was also selected for India A. He was not available. Dhawal (Kulkarni) was playing alternate games, looking at his age and workload. Royston (Dias) is fairly new,” said the 32-year-old.
“He (Mohit) operated a lot in those first five games and then he had an injury so he had to miss a game. I think that is because there is not enough spacing between the games,” Thakur added.
Thakur scored 109 runs from 104 balls including 13 fours and four sixes. Mumbai were 353/9 at the end of Day 2's play with 207-run lead in the bag.
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