No fitness trainer for team India since February 2008
It’s ironic that the BCCI, the richest cricket board in the world, has not hired a fitness trainer for the Indian team for more than a year now, since February 2008. It’s only now that, keeping in mind the hectic international schedule ahead, the Indian team management has requested the board for a fitness trainer. A reply, though, is still eagerly awaited, sources said.
Although the team currently has a physio in Nitin Patel and a mental conditioning coach in Paddy Upton, it needs a fitness trainer to oversee personalised fitness routines for the players, particularly the fast bowlers. The management is keen to see that players stay fit and are adequately trained to enable them to go through the grind of a gruelling season ahead, which starts with the Champions Trophy in September and goes on till the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.
“They have to be fit and fresh for the challenges in the coming season. And in order to ensure that, the team definitely needs a trainer to make things better,” a team management source said on Friday.
“The team wants to make sure that key bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are fit and raring to go before crucial tournaments. So, it is important to have the right drills in order to stay fit. Even guys like Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra and RP Singh need to keep their fitness levels high,” he said.
“In other words, the team needs a trainer-cum-strengthening coach. Even the batsmen need to work around someone who can help them to increase stamina levels,” he added.
Though the board is yet to respond to the request, sources suggested a hunt for a new trainer was on. The past two Indian team trainers were both from South Africa and a third could be in the offing, it is learnt. Gregory King was the team’s trainer till February 2008 and there has been no replacement ever since he quit on personal grounds. King had replaced countrymate Adrian le Roux. These days, the team’s fitness drills are taken care of by Upton.
