We all know that this year's IPL will commence amidst a packed calendar in International cricket which includes ICC world cup 2019 which is set to happen in England and Wales.
So, the BCCI has decided to prepone the IPL from its usual slot of April to March so as to give enough rest for the world cup bound players before the marquee event.
There are also concerns regarding any injuries that can occur to a player who might be a vital cog in their national team. Recently, there were reports suggesting that Jasprit Bumrah could be rested and may not play the entire league stage that Mumbai Indians play.
Similarly, there was talk not long before that many of the players would be rested during the course of two-month long extravaganza known as the IPL. One good thing is that many of the teams are prepared and have picked enough like to like replacements who might not feature in the world cup scheme of things of their respective countries.
In this slideshow, we will look at one player from each team barring Rajasthan Royals (as they don't have any Indian player bound for World Cup at the moment) who could be rested more often than not during the IPL.
#7 Delhi Capitals- Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most prominent limited overs batsmen in the world of cricket. Delhi Capitals recently brought the southpaw before the IPL auctions through trade from Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dhawan is a certainty for the World Cup and India will want him at his full fitness. He along with Virat and Rohit form a top 3 that is almost impossible to match.
Coming to the Delhi Capitals, they have talented Indian batsman who can step up the plate and fill the void left by Dhawan if he gets rested for some of the games.
#6 Kings XI Punjab- Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami was one of the important limited overs bowlers not so long ago but with injuries, he soon became a Test match specialist and played only a handful of ODI matches for India since the last World Cup.
But with the 2019 World Cup around the corner, his experience of playing at the highest stage will be valuable to the team management has named in the limited overs squad for both Australia and New Zealand tours where he became the fastest Indian bowler to take 100 ODI wickets.
With this being said, there is a strong possibility that he may find a place in the World Cup squad as the team can't rely only on the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvi.
Punjab bought Shami at a huge sum of 4.8 crores but they may not be able to field him in all the match that the Kings play. But they have players at their disposal to full his boots.
#5 Kolkata Knight Riders- Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav will be without any doubt will make it to the final 15 of the Indian World Cup squad and is a vital cog for the Kolkata Knight Riders as well. But India will want him at his full fitness for the world cup.
As India have invested a lot in Kuldeep and Yuzuvendra Chahal, them being in injured or even carrying a niggle for the world cup is the last thing that the Indian team will want.
Coming to the Kolkata Knight Riders, they have enough spinners to replace Kuldeep in Piyush Chawla. And also Sunil Narine will be available for the most part of the season which may not make Kuldeep's absence that much severe.
Yes, he is an important asset that any captain can have but Dinesh Karthik needs to use his chinaman bowler much more carefully in this season.
#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The last year's runner up may have to rest Bhuvi for some of their games for the second straight season in a row. Even in last season, Bhuvneshwar didn't play in all of the SRH's matches due to injury issues and subsequently was out of form.
He needs enough rest to get into the groove before the all-important World Cup where he is almost certain to take the new ball with his fellow quickie Jasprit Bumrah. This time India has all the bases covered in terms of bowling and Injury to one their bowling spearheads is the last thing they need before the world cup.
Sure SRH will miss Bhuvi as he was a proud owner of the purple cap not long ago but they do have several impressive Indian pace bowlers who can be given a go in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
#3 Mumbai Indians- Rohit Sharma
As the reports suggest, Mumbai Indians may rest Jasprit Bumrah for some of the games that the team play and they could add the Indian opening to the list and field him depending on his injury. His record in ICC events is outstanding and BCCI will preserve him as much as possible before the World Cup.
Yes, Rohit Sharma will be the captain of the Mumbai Indians but since IPL is a long tournament and even a freakish injury to him can hamper India's chances at the World Cup.
He has been in the form of his life as far as the white ball cricket is concerned and that should be added advantage for India ahead of the mega event but one may feel the long gruelling IPL may take a toll on many of the Indian players as well as the overseas ones.
So with the best interest, it may be wise to keep Rohit fresh ahead of the World Cup.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore- Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli may be the most overcooked player in the history of the modern game as he is playing almost games for India taking much-needed break far and few, and that too only in recent times due to the fact that he faced some injury-related concerns.
Being the fittest player he is, he wants to play as much as possible but the human body can take only so much. So it will be wise on the part of Kohli that he picks and choose games he plays before the World Cup and that includes the IPL too where he will be seen leading the RCB in their quest for the maiden title.
With little back issue he has now, he will need to make sure that he is 100% fit before the World Cup in June.
#1 Chennai Super Kings- Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not getting any younger and as they say, nothing can match experience, he will surely be the best asset for India in clinching their third ICC World Cup title. He brings more much to any team he plays, as his calm demeanour will be invaluable in demanding situations.
Virat and his team will want MS Dhoni fully fit for the world cup even though he is not the same Dhoni as old. His performances with the bat may not be yielding the returns expected out of him by the team and the fans, but Dhoni will always come good when the team needs the most as we got see his batting in the Australia tour.
He needs to take care of most of his ageing body and an injury playing in IPL is the last thing he needs and it will surely affect India's World Cup chances.
Also Read: IPL 2019 Dark horses in each team
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