Michael Clarke urges Australian players to reconsider playing in IPL

12/02/2016

Michael Clarke has stressed that despite all the cash the IPL brings, the fatigue and lack of rest are the biggest negatives for the Australian players who choose to play. Clarke has also warned that playing throughout the year could lead to a serious injury at some point during their careers.

“Cricket Australia allow every contracted player to have six weeks off a year. This falls during the IPL time so it’s an individual player’s choice to go and play IPL. And if you choose your six-week holiday to play IPL, then that’s your choice,” Michael Clarke told Wide World of Sports on Friday.

Speaking about the pros and cons of participating in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, the former Australian captain said, “There’s positives, the cash, that comes with that, but there’s negatives, the fatigue and lack of rest. You’ve got to sum up what’s best for you.”

Australia are set to play three series against New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the next two months followed by a four-Test series in India over February and March. With the IPL scheduled to be played across April and May 2017, Clarke feels that the playing non-stop cricket could bring injuries to the players.

“I think it’s inevitable if you’re playing 12 months of the year, year after year after year, that you’re going to get some sort of niggle, some sort of fatigue, some sort of injury,"Clarke said.

“There’s a lot more that comes these days with being a professional sportsman and that’s why I believe at some stage you’re going to need a break mentally and physically to get away from the game if you want longevity in the sport,” he explained.

Clarke also believes that it is important for Australia to field its best team across all formats and consider resting the likes of Hazlewood and Starc only if they take a a decent lead in a series.

"It didn’t matter who I played against, representing Australia was the pinnacle and every game was important, so I think the Australian team needs the whole squad at full strength, there’s no doubt about it, in all three formats,'' Clarke said.

“I think once you’ve won the series, if Australia manage to go 2-0 up in this one-day series then for the third one-dayer I think there’s an opportunity to rest their two fast bowlers.”

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