Cricket Australia unlikely to review IPL policy due to Hayden injury

Cricket Australia (CA) is unlikely to review its policy vis-a-vis loaning its players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in spite of opener Mathew Hayden receiving an Achilles heel injury while playing the tournament.

Melbourne, May 21 : Cricket Australia (CA) is unlikely to review its policy vis-a-vis loaning its players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in spite of opener Mathew Hayden receiving an Achilles heel injury while playing the tournament.

According to The Australian, Hayden has been rated as having only a 50-50 chance of playing Australia's first Test against the Wes Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, from Thursday. The 36-year-old Queensland opening batsman is almost certain to be ruled out as he has been struggling with an Achilles tendon injury that surfaced three weeks ago during his brief stint with the Chennai Super Kings.

"In doing the IPL exercise, we were always conscious that (injury) was one of the risks with it," said CA public affairs manager Peter Young.

"Having said that ... it's possible (Hayden) may be where he is now even if he hadn't gone to IPL. It's a common issue (injury) and it's the sort of thing that commonly arises with players that go and play English county cricket. I don't think the rigours of Twenty20 are a particular issue. The stress and strain on a top-class batsman like Matthew Hayden is far more rigorous in a Test match where he has to bat for sustained periods and field for sustained periods," Young added.

Physio Alex Kountouris said the cause of Hayden's injury was simply wear and tear over a 15-year career.

"It was actually doing fitness work, he was doing some routine running that he does as part of his conditioning and he just started to feel it. He has had other tendon problems in the past so it wasn't a surprise to us. To be honest he's not the only one with tendon problems in the team. You would find at least half of them would have some sort of tendon injury. It is a bit of luck to be honest, some people get away with them and some don't," Kountouris said.

Now in the twilight of a remarkable career, Hayden may soon have to reconsider his own playing commitments if he wants to continue to next year's Ashes series, with the possibility he may have to focus solely on Test cricket to give his body adequate rest.

ANI