In an exclusive pre-season press conference, Mumbai Indians' Head Coach Mark Boucher revealed that he has no issue resting the team's captain Rohit Sharma during the league stage of the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to manage his workload. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had previously announced that they would monitor the workload of players bound for the ODI World Cup during IPL 2023, which will run from March 31 to May 28.
As Rohit Sharma is yet to captain India in overseas Test due to injuries and COVID-19 concerns, his workload becomes even more crucial, particularly with the World Test Championship final against Australia starting on June 7 at The Oval in London. When asked if he will rest during games, Rohit quipped, "In terms of me resting, I think Mark will give you an answer to that," to which Boucher replied, "Do you want to rest?"
Boucher then added, "In regards to resting Rohit, he is the captain. Hopefully he gets into some good sort of form, and I hope he doesn't want to rest. But we all adapt to different situations. If I can get the best out of him as a captain and player, that will be great. If it means he wants to rest 1 or 2 games, then I will do that. Absolutely, no problem."
Boucher also expressed his amusement over workload management surrounding T20 games, suggesting that ODIs as well as Tests are more gruelling on the bodies of the cricketers. "It is amazing we are even talking about workload in T20 cricket. Probably about 10 or 15 years ago, we would not be having this conversation. Workload is something we have the science behind it, we have got trainers, and we have got the guys who give us the data."
Despite the new impact player rule and teams announcing playing elevens after the toss is held, Rohit Sharma is optimistic about the new rules. "It's interesting to have new sort of innovation coming into the game. Only time will tell what will happen and how the team copes with this new rule. I like having an impact player coming in and changing your team after the toss."
Boucher agreed with Rohit's views, stating that "We are going to have to learn. It is a great innovation; I have no problem with the changing of the teams after the toss."
In conclusion, Boucher emphasized that "As Rohit said, you have 11 cricketers, and you will try to select the best 11 cricketers you have. The 12th player is just a bonus." The Mumbai Indians will be looking to defend their IPL title and lift the trophy for the sixth time in IPL 2023.