Pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has weighed in on workload debate. Thakur feels that players are "taken for granted" and don't get "frequent breaks" needed to manage the body and keep it injury-free.
"A lot of times we are taken for granted and the management is not to the highest level," West Zone captain Thakur said on the final day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone. "No one actually comes and asks us how our body feels after playing for so many months. But yes, I have been managing my body with physios, S&Cs [Strength & Conditioning coach], doing constant work.
"And it's about playing cricket. I'm not saying that you keep pulling yourself out from playing the games. But frequent breaks here and there are good for the body."
Thakur's workload after recovering from injury
Since his return from injury, Thakur has played in Irani Trophy 2024, Ranji Trophy 2024-25, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as their replacement player. Then, he was part of India A for multi-day games against England Lions. Before playing in Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal, he played two Tests in Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.
Thakur says no to 'workload management' during the game
Of late, workload management has been part of a raging debate. Many former cricketers criticised Jasprit Bumrah for making himself available for three out of five Tests on England Thakur. While Thakur believes that workload should be managed, he throws caution out of window once he gets on the field.
"Once you enter the game, you can't be talking about workload management because then the game situation also takes over," he said. "When you go into the game, you're expected to give your best. Whatever you have in your tank, you have to give it all.
"And I believe you shouldn't be shying away from coming in and hitting the deck hard in the game, keep doing those efforts. Yes, when you go out of the ground and when you're resting back home or you have those breaks in between the game, that's where you try to manage your bodies and try to manage your load.
"If you're not having too much load in the game, then of course you can push yourself in the nets also. But if you're having a big amount of load in the game, then you can take it a little bit easy in the nets."
On September 7, West Zone could not make it to the Duleep Trophy final as Rajat Patidar-led Central Zone progressed on the basis of first innings lead.
Will Thakur feature in West Indies Test series
It is yet to be seen whether Thakur retains his place in the Test squad for home series against West Indies. On the England tour, he was under-bowled and managed to take two wickets. With the bat, he scored 46 runs from three innings.