A member of Team India’s support staff from the 2011 World Cup has commented on the discussion of “specialized players” surrounding the Men in Blue amid the growing amount of injury issues in Indian cricket. The necessity to divide their workload according to series and involvement in formats has taken top priority as the Indian cricket team continues to deal with the seriousness of their star players suffering injuries. According to appearances, the Indian T20I side will look younger and more youthful going forward, but it is anticipated that a particular group of veteran players, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and others, will continue to play in both the ODIs and T20Is.
Ramji Srinivasan, who oversaw MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, and other Team India players’ fitness during the 2011 World Cup, has noted that while the decision to choose specialist players for each format ultimately rests with the selectors, the fitness of those who regularly play in all three needs to be prioritized and monitored rather carefully.
Srinivasan wrote for a reputed newspaper, “This question has been lingering around for a lot of time. Picking specialists for each format is a call that has to be taken by the selectors and the coaching staff. But if the selectors decide that a player is going to feature in all three formats, it is the duty of the strength and conditioning coach to keep the player fit. There is nothing wrong in players featuring in all three formats. Don’t forget, 10 years ago, you had MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan featuring in all three formats. Players understood their body and were smart enough to know what worked for them. And they shouldn’t follow what an S&C says blindly. They should ask questions.”
He added, “Playing three formats is an evolution of the game and as far as fitness goes, everything is possible. But for that, testing, screening, training, plan & travel and diet schedule have to be finalised accordingly. There will be players who are equipped to play all three formats and only skill should determine it, not fitness. If there is an all-format player, he has to be trained accordingly. And as a player ages, one has to factor in that as well. Virat Kohli can’t be following the same process now that he was doing four years ago.”
Both Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, two of India’s top players, were unable to compete in the flagship ICC tournament at the T20 World Cup owing to separate injuries. To make matters worse, Mohammed Shami already had a shoulder injury before the visit, and Rohit and Deepak Chahar both had injuries during the Bangladesh ODI series. In order to keep India’s elite players injury-free as another World Cup year approaches, Srinivasan has offered many recommendations, beginning with open communication and accountability.
He further added, “You need to have an open line of communication between all the trainers – Indian team, Ranji Trophy, IPL or India A – and work in tandem. Too much information can also cause problems. A set protocol has to be in place for testing, screening and methodology in training.
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After every IPL, it is common to see players gaining weight, fatigue, mental fatigue because of tension and travel. Someone has to take responsibility for the fitness of a player. This has to start from the Under-14 level. Setting up the process, template for a fitness programme is essential, or else we are just going to be shooting in the dark.”
