Former Indian team coach Ravi Shastri speaks about increased workload of the Indian team players

The former India coach Ravi Shastri thinks the Indian board has to speak to the Indian T20 League teams to offer players a much-needed vacation since the world Test championship begins just one week after the ITL and India is already dealing with a few injury worries.

Rehabilitation is being provided for Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer's injuries. The difficulty for the board is to ensure that a fit Indian team would board an aircraft to the UK because India plays in the Test Championship final just one week after the ITL final. Also, the ODI World Cup is only seven months away which means the fitness of the handpicked players needs to be on point.

What did Shastri speak to the Indian Express about?

Ravi Shastri spoke to the Indian Express during the Legends League Cricket in Doha about how the ITL teams need to work with the board to provide adequate rest to the players. He said, "Even during the IPL the board has to tell the franchise, listen we need him, India needs him, so for India’s sake, if he doesn’t play those games it will be good."

The former Indian coach then added how the rest period for the players is getting decreased these days. He added, "The volume of cricket has increased. Rest period is getting decreased, this is where establishment and players have to sit across the table. They need to be told that you need that much break and give them so much game to play."

Shastri then spoke about how KL Rahul should ideally start ahead of KS Bharat in the line-up for the Test Championship final. He said, "KL Rahul should keep behind the wickets in the WTC, as Rishabh Pant is not there. In England, seamers will bowl more, so the keeper will be standing behind most of the time. He will strengthen the batting at numbers 5-6 and he did well in the ODI game in Mumbai. KS Bharat is a newcomer, it is not the case that we have to play him. Bharat will learn with exposure. And in these big games, one has to weigh all the options."

Shastri then discussed how the Indian team is due a World Cup win and quoted some nice examples to prove his theory. He said, "I think India is due, we have been consistent. We have reached semis and finals on a regular basis. You look at Sachin Tendulkar, he has to play six World Cups to win the ICC World Cup Trophy. He achieved it in his last World Cup. Look at Messi, a classic example. When he started to win, he won the Copa America and then the World Cup and he scored also."