Altus Momberg

Cape Town – The Proteas brains trust will carefully monitor the South African cricket players when they participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) later this month.

New Proteas coach Corrie van Zyl said on Wednesday that he is slightly concerned about the workload of his players in the build-up to the World Twenty20 Championship in the West Indies in May.

He said that he would monitor the players closely to determine whether they are playing too much.

“There are obviously a number of overseas players in every team and only four are allowed to play at a time. A number of them will not play in all the games,” said Van Zyl.

The coach also said that he would send the Proteas in India a list of instructions.

“Some of the players will get very little game time and I will give them programmes with specific exercises aimed at improving certain aspects of their game,” he said.

Van Zyl conceded that it would be difficult to ask the IPL teams to rest players.

“The IPL teams also have to understand that our requirements for our players is a priority. Brandon Jacobs (Proteas physiotherapist) and Rob Walters (the team’s fitness coach) are already in contact with the IPL sides and will help me monitor the players,” said Van Zyl.

There is some concern that the Proteas may be on their last legs when they land in the West Indies. They have been playing virtually non-stop since the Champions Trophy Tournament in September last year.

Meanwhile, the Proteas coach will meet with the six franchise coaches in Port Elizabeth on Thursday in an effort to get their co-operation in future.

“I think it’s vitally important that we build on the healthy relationship I already have with them. The franchise teams and national team cannot work in isolation. They are interdependent,” said Van Zyl.

“They are the guys that see the franchise players the most and I would like to utilise their knowledge.”

Van Zyl has over the last season built a good relationship with the franchise coaches as Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) high performance manager.

He also wants to pick the next South Africa A and Emerging Proteas side with the six coaches next time.

“They definitely know who the best players in the country are. I don’t think there will be more than a few differences of opinion when we sit around a table to pick teams. The teams will then be submitted to the national selection panel for approval,” said Van Zyl.