All the participating teams will have the opportunity to alter their initial squads until May 25.
“The Indian team will be selected some time during the last week of April, the time by which the first half of IPL will be over and national selection committee will be in a position to assess form and fitness of the contenders,” the senior BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
“The first batch of cricketers will leave for New York immediately after the end of the league stage of Indian Premier League (IPL) on May 19. Those players, whose teams won’t qualify for the final four will be going early, like it happened during WTC (World Test Championship) final last year,” the source added.
Given that the tournament is taking place in the USA and West Indies, it’s anticipated that some of the stand-by players will accompany the team to avoid logistical challenges in case a player from the main squad sustains an injury or has to withdraw due to unforeseen events.
The four national selectors will travel to witness the majority of the matches, as this World Cup differs from previous editions where they only attended select games while monitoring others via television.
It’s understood that there haven’t been any directives issued to India’s prospective players regarding workload management, as they remain under the control of their respective franchises during the two months of the IPL.
“Obviously, if any centrally contracted or targeted player gets injured, his case will automatically come under the purview of the NCA’s Medicine and Sports Science team.
“Also for the centrally contracted players and targeted players (India A, Emerging India), the S&C (strength and conditioning) coaches and physios need to keep NCA in loop. But when players are contracted with franchises, BCCI can’t dictate how many matches they will play. As far as bowlers are concerned, it is only four overs,” the source added.
(With PTI inputs)
