The Hindu : Sport : King and Gloster satisfied with the fitness levels of probables

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005

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King and Gloster satisfied with the fitness levels of probables

Sports Reporter

A couple of warm-up matches are scheduled in the next phase of the camp

FITNESS MASTERS: Indian team's physio John Gloster and trainer Gregory King have worked in tandem on the fitness of the probables. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore: A day after the conditioning camp concluded at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday, the probables preferred to rest their sore limbs at the team hotel except a few Delhi players, from Virender Sehwag to Amit Bhandari, who were there for a commercial shoot for their Ranji team's official sponsor.

Meanwhile trainer Gregory King and physio John Gloster expressed satisfaction over the fitness levels achieved during the conditioning camp. "The guys really worked hard. There have been days when we finished training but the guys came back and did some extra training! They have lived up to what I wanted from them and I am happy," King told the media here on Tuesday.

On the issue of fitness of players, King said, "From a general fitness point of view, there is nothing that I am overly concerned about. You are bound to get a few niggles during a fitness camp especially with the guys working so hard. You will get the odd bump and a bruise but there is nothing much to worry about."

Game-related activities

The trainer stressed that the latest camp was similar to the one held earlier except that there was also emphasis on game-related activities. "We did similar training last year too but this time we put more emphasis on sport-specific activity because we are going into a series very soon. We had the guys doing a fair amount of bowling and fielding drills. Last time around we didn't have much of these activities and that probably is the difference," King said.

King also emphasised that the players will not be affected by the contrast in weather between pleasant Bangalore and humid Sri Lanka. "I think the players will be fine. Last time we went to Chennai for the cricket-skills camp and got used to the heat there but after we landed in Sri Lanka, three to four guys were very flat because they were already exhausted by the practice sessions in the heat at Chennai. This time we made a decision and there was no way that we could have pushed the guys, as we did here, in Chennai. We have pushed them hard here and we are also landing in Sri Lanka a bit earlier than we did last time so that the players get acclimatised to the conditions," he said.

Nehra's niggles

John Gloster reiterated King's views on fitness but added that left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra still had work to do. "We have a good stock of fast bowlers but Ashish Nehra was a bit unfortunate because early in the camp he had a viral infection which held him back. He will have to work a bit harder in the next phase but that is something we are working on. Among the rest, Irfan Pathan after playing in England is match-fit but there are a couple of areas on the cardio-vascular side we will have to with him on.

"We are impressed with Zaheer Khan's work and Balaji has also worked extremely hard in the lead-up to the camp. Overall the general condition of the bowlers has been good," Gloster said.

Gloster however remained optimistic over Nehra's eligibility for selection. "Nehra is being held back by a couple of other small niggles as well but we will have to increase his fitness-work a little bit and make sure that he is available for selection. We've got a couple of warm-up matches in the next phase of the cricket-skills camp and match-situations are the best indicator of whether a player is up physically and that is where we will know where Ashish's fitness is," Gloster said.

The physio also sounded positive on Sachin Tendulkar's rehabilitation from surgery. "We are happy with Sachin's progress. I have also taken feedback from Andrew Leipus who met Sachin last week. Once Sachin arrives here, we will review him and take him onto the next rehabilitation plan. It is a graded phase and the most important component of rehabilitation is the gaining of strength. We take guidance from Sachin's London surgeon as the Doctor's protocol has to be followed by every athlete recovering from surgery. At this stage the recovery time-frame will be about 14 to 16 weeks," Gloster said, besides praising the contribution made by kinesiologist Dr. Charles Krebs.

Cricket-skills camp

Meanwhile the cricket-skills camp for probables will commence here on Wednesday and conclude on July 19. The camp will feature all the probables, including those who were away playing County cricket. Tendulkar is also scheduled to arrive here and share his views with coach Greg Chappell. Tendulkar will return to Mumbai after a couple of days. Meanwhile Sourav Ganguly is expected to reach Bangalore early on Wednesday morning. Chappell will also bank on the inputs provided by sports scientist Ian Fazer who arrived here on Tuesday.

The opening day of the cricket-skills camp will be a closed-door affair as Chappell will interact with the players at the team hotel. The cricket-skills camp will also feature two practice matches besides the day-and-night benefit match for David Johnson here on Sunday. One of the practice matches will be played on the basis of the ICC's recent experimental one-day rules.

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