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Injuries are part and parcel of any game. Cricketers often get injured due to extreme workloads while playing the game. Fast bowlers are most prone to injuries with their bodies requiring extra attention as compared to other specialists in the game of cricket. They can injure anything from their leg to back as well as shoulders. And with the moving at such a fast pace, it is harder for them to cope as well.
Even with raised standards of fitness, injuries are bound to happen. While some pacers manage the workload and keep themselves away from injuries, some get injured too often. Australia's Nathan Coulter-Nile is one such player who is out of action with injuries more often than not. But still, he is one sought-after player in franchise cricket like the Indian Premier League (IPL). Coulter-Nile has played for multiple franchises over the years and this time he was bound to provide his services to Rajasthan Royals.
The pacer featured in a couple of games but was ruled out of the tournament after being severely injured. This made people wonder how can a player get injured so quickly. This led to a discussion about players lying about their fitness. Talking about the same to SportsTiger, ex-KKR player Rajat Bhatia revealed that players do lie about their fitness to save their contract with IPL franchises.
When Bhatia was asked about Coulter-Nile playing for RR despite injury concerns, the ex-Rajasthan cricketer said that a few players purposely play a few games despite not being fully fit. Bhatia cited the example of Brad Haddin and said that he also faked his full fitness just in order to retain his contract with his then IPL franchise KKR.
"There are many players here who play a few games despite not being fully fit as they know that if they play even one game, they will get a fair share of their contract amount. I have seen Brad Haddin doing so. While playing for KKR, he featured in a few games and then proved that he is injured. Many players do such things. They come and play and hide their injuries," said Bhatia to SportsTiger.
"I think there should be a rule made regarding this as franchises show so much trust and faith in players and they lie to them, which is not good," he added.