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Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008
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An exciting phase: King

S. Dinakar

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Gregory King. —

Chennai: Gregory Allen King believes the amount of international cricket being played these days was detrimental to the cricketers’ fitness. The former India fitness trainer, now in a similar role with Chennai Super Kings, told The Hindu on Sunday: “Your body can only take so much. The cricketers are playing too many games. There is little time for the body to recover.”

King said the traditional gaps between seasons were disappearing fast if they had not vanished altogether. “Ideally, after a tour of nearly three months, a cricketer would require a rest of at least a month.”

He was not surprised at the fitness concerns in the Indian team. “They have been playing almost non-stop cricket this year. There were bound to be fitness concerns,” he said. Mental fatigue too could eventually result in a cricketer picking up an injury.

Complex challenges

Dwelling on his time with the Indian team, he called the experience rewarding. There were, however, certain complex challenges.

“I was never completely able to understand Munaf Patel,” he concedes. Fitness travails seemed to have left psychological scars on Patel.

On Aashish Nehra, another paceman with a history of breakdowns, he said, “At least, he worked hard during training sessions. But I thought he picked up some wrong advice from certain quarters.”

Greater depth, the right replacements and the ability to rotate players were crucial, he said. In this context, King is keen on the State associations formulating specific fitness programmes for the cricketers. “I would like the fringe players in Tamil Nadu or Super Kings to be a part of a three-month programme after the season is over. We need to build a fitness culture.”

‘Hit the stumps’

Throwing light on the specifics of Twenty20 cricket, he said, “If you look at the key matches in the World Championship, including the final, direct hits made the difference. Teams need to nail this area, get it absolutely right. You should hit the stumps.” This aspect, involving speed and precision, requires fitness.

Cricketers who could deliver in the one-dayers should adapt to Twenty20 cricket, he felt. “Physically, it is not much different from the 50 over games but there is less time to adapt to the conditions,” he said. Explosive speed over short bursts could be critical.

King was excited at the challenge of coaching one of the premier sides in the IPL. “This is a good group to work with. It is an exciting phase for cricket. It will need a longer look before I can comment on the fitness levels of the cricketers.”

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