The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has asked its contracted cricketers to follow the fitness plan designed by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) during the course of the upcoming IPL 2022 as well, keeping in mind that there are two World Cup events coming up in as many years.
Earlier, once players joined their IPL teams, they followed the regimen of their respective franchises. The NCA-monitored fitness plan has been put in place after the BCCI and selectors were kept in the dark earlier about the fitness status of top cricketers during the IPL.
This season, physios and trainers of the NCA and head coach Rahul Dravid will be in touch with the country’s top cricketers to ensure they stick to the plan, with the focus on strength and conditioning.
Under a centralized system, the NCA, headed by VVS Laxman, is going to have a more active role to play in scientific fitness monitoring of the cricketers who are part of the core group expected to play in the T20 World Cup later this year and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
In the run-up to the IPL, a two-week strength and conditioning camp is being conducted at the NCA to monitor the fitness of players who are not part of the Test squad playing Sri Lanka.
“For us, fitness is paramount and we want our players to be fully fit before any bilateral series or international game. We have a fitness camp at the NCA and, going ahead, similar camps will be held. The goal is to have everyone on the same page when it comes to following the fitness plan set by the BCCI,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah told The Indian Express.
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This is to avoid situations like Rohit Sharma being rested for the white-ball series in Australia due to a hamstring injury, but a day after the Indian team was announced, Rohit played in the IPL 2020 final for Mumbai Indians in UAE.
Also, the selectors do have clarity on the fitness of Hardik Pandya after his back surgery, which limited his bowling ability during this year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.
But players have been informed that the current plan is not set in stone and they can get back to the NCA if it becomes too tedious to follow.
“Coach Dravid said that you play 10 months for India and only two months for IPL. He told us to trust the support staff and NCA when it comes to fitness. A few players did express their concern about how IPL team physios and trainers would react. But we have been told to leave such issues to the BCCI. Players can also inform the NCA or the Indian team management if the training plan of the NCA is too difficult to follow during the IPL,” said a cricketer.
The IPL 2022 begins from March 26 and will run till May 29.
(Indian Express inputs)
