Half-Fit Players in IPL: To Play Them or Not to Play Them
Bangalore dropped Chris Gayle. It was like dropping a bombshell. But it's well known that Chris Gayle hasn't been a 100 percent for a long long time now. He has been half-fit. He's not the only half fit player in the IPL. Bangalore only made a bold decision. Some other sides have not.
Team. That is what a group of players is called. They've got to gel well, come together, and move in cohesion to achieve the goal. For that you can't have a chink in the armor. Everyone has to be fast enough. Nobody can be slower than the rest. One injured soul has to be left behind because a team's strength is in its unity. One weaker soul can compromise the team.(IPL 2015: Full Coverage)
The movie 300 showcases this better than words can explain. Leonidas, the main protagonist, is leading 300 Spartans against Xerxes, the King of Persia. The strength of Leonidas' army is in its formation. Ephialtes, a deformed Spartan, asks Leonidas to let him join the 300 and fight for Sparta. However, Leonidas rejects him because Ephialtes' deformity prevents him from properly holding his shield, something that could compromise the formation of Leonidas' 300.
In the absence of any further details, one has to assume Bangalore made the bold decision to drop Chris Gayle vs Chennai Super Kings as opposed to an injury preventing Gayle from playing.
After the news of Chris Gayle not playing the game vs Chennai had came 1987 World Cup Winner with Australia Dean Jones said 'He must be sick. He is one of the best ever. You can't drop the Bradman of T20 cricket can you? Look he hasn't been injured. He has only been 70 percent right over the last 5 months.'
It probably boils down to which player is worth selecting half fit or not. Australia is known to be one side that simply doesn't gamble on any half fit player. Even the slightest injury in most circumstances will ensure the bench will be called upon. On the other hand India and West Indies play their stars even if they are half fit, especially in big games.
In the IPL too different teams have different ideologies. Bangalore waited for Mitchell Starc to return before seemingly dropping Chris Gayle. Rajasthan made the conscious decision of dropping their Captain Shane Watson for their first 4 games. When Watson joined them he looked like he had never been injured scoring a monstrous 73 off 47. What was reported as a hip injury had clearly been healed. Delhi have not played Zaheer Khan so far in the IPL. Reports suggest he is injured. Delhi is in desperate need of experience in their pace attack. But they don't won't Zak back until he is a 100 percent fit. Bangalore gambled with what has seemingly been a half fit Chris Gayle for a while but after a paltry 24 ball 10 run knock, the big Jamaican's big hitting abilities counted for little.
Hyderabad skipper David Warner said Trent Boult is 'just ahead of Dale' at the moment at the back of a spectacular World Cup performance. Both Steyn and Boult had rigorous World Cups. Surely a 31 year old Steyn needed more time to recover than a 25 year old Boult. Which is probably why after a few matches of rest Steyn is back leading the Hyderabad pace attack and Boult is sitting out.
Each team has to solve the conundrum and hope to come out on top. What makes it tougher is the fact that the T20 version of the game is luring. It seduces players and teams into thinking 'I'll only have to bowl 4 overs and play about 30 balls or field 120 balls'. However what one forgets is that the intensity in that short duration is also much more than in any other form of the game.
So what does a team do with half-fit players. There's no sure shot rule. It's all just a gamble?