'There will be a lot of injuries', warns India all-rounder Shardul Thakur about crammed domestic schedule

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has called for more breaks between the games in the premier domestic first-class tournament Ranji Trophy. Thakur made the comments after rescuing his Ranji side Mumbai with a century in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu on Sunday (March 3).

"If boys keep playing like this for two more seasons, there will be a lot of injuries across the country," Thakur said after coming in to bat with Mumbai at 106/6 and scoring 109 to take his side to 290 by the time he became the ninth wicket to fall. Thanks to Thakur's maiden first-class hundred, Mumbai were 144 runs ahead of Tamil Nadu's 146 by the time he went back to the dressing room.

"Next year, they [the BCCI] have to re-look at it, and give more [of a] break. When I remember playing Ranji Trophy back in the day, good seven to eight years back, [the] first three games used to have [a] three-day break, and then it was [a] four-day break, and knockouts were played [with] five-day breaks," he added.

Tamil Nadu skipper R Sai Kishore, who had Mumbai on the rails with a five-for ahead of Thakur's sensational counter-attack, also echoed the same views.

"A few players feel the same thing," said Sai Kishore. "Fast bowlers are extra tired because you travel on one day. For me, I don't train much because of the three-day thing. I bowl directly match-to-match, so the load on my body is fine. I don't strain myself in training pre-match. I am managing myself that way, but it should be harder for the fast bowlers," he added.

As for the match, Mumbai's last wicket pair of Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande increased Tamil Nadu's worries by adding 63 unbeaten runs. At the end of day 2's (March 3) play, Mumbai were 353/9, having taken a substantial lead of 207 runs in the first innings.