Good article by Manju on India's attitude towards fitness

[Ultimate_Game]

Manju is beginning to make lot more sense these days. Here's a decent article from him where he has rightly called out India's poor attitude towards fitness. Laxman seems to bear brunt of his rant :haha: He has also rightly called out Sehwag, Zak and Ashwin for poor fitness. He also makes pertinent point about fitness and its correlation to a champion team. Here's the link and the article... http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/554736.html

The tours to England and Australia have shaken India out of their comfort zone, forcing them to look into areas of their cricket that were never an issue for them. Fitness, for example. India won the World Cup a year ago despite poor fitness standards, with only three of their 11 fielders actually meeting international fielding standards. This probably helped reinforce their thinking that if you have skills, you can be champions, no matter your fitness. But the visits to England and Australia have opened their eyes to the fact that low fitness can also embarrass you badly as an international team on the world stage. The one important learning that India should take from their experiences in England and Australia is that they need to have a fitness policy with regard to the selection of their players. No matter how good your skills are, if you are overweight, unathletic, aged, and hence a liability in the field, you will just not make the cut as an India player. And when I say fitness I don't mean the kind of fitness that India had issues with on that tour of England, when some players turned up to play international cricket only half-fit. I mean the fitness of an India player when he actually reports to the team management as 100% fit. Apart from the obvious advantages that fitness brings in the field, which Dhoni very accurately and rightly pointed out after the Brisbane one-dayer against Australia, a strong fitness policy will give Indian selectors the ammunition to take clinical cricketing decisions. As we know, it's not quite as easy to drop an Indian star as Australia did Ricky Ponting from the one-dayers, on pure performance. An Australian selector knows he has the support of the team's fans when he takes decisions like this. For in Australia, performance, not the player, is king. It's important that a fitness-led approach has the strong backing of the BCCI, for that will help an Indian selector tell angry fans that their hero was dropped because he did not meet the new fitness standards of Indian cricket. Indian selectors over the years have had to make many compromises with their selections, fearing backlashes from the media and fans, which alone, I feel, have hurt Indian cricket like nothing else. We were all stunned last month when an ageing, unfit and out-of-form VVS Laxman was preferred over a young player for the Adelaide Test. Why did that happen? Only because of the stature of the player who had to be dropped. This, regrettably, is the reality of the Indian cricket culture. To take a hypothetical example: if India had a strong fitness policy, for all his skills and runs Laxman would have started feeling the pressure as an India player three years ago. Why? On fitness grounds. If you remember, even when he was playing those wonderful, heroic innings for India, his back would routinely start giving up on him, and his knees were not helping his movements in the field either. If India had a long-established fitness policy, Laxman would have been forced to work harder on his fitness three years ago, and he may have turned a new leaf, appearing more sprightly on the field and in the batting crease than he did in England and Australia. Or he would have been dropped on grounds of fitness and a new, fitter No. 5 batsman would have taken his place. But as we saw in Adelaide, India did not have a fit VVS Laxman or a younger, fitter No. 5 batsman. I have no doubt that Laxman would have handled England and Australia better if he was fitter - especially if he was lighter on his feet. To take a simple view of this, imagine a player being told by his coach to bat carrying a backpack weighing 10kg. The batsman would obviously reject the suggestion as ridiculous, because the excess weight will slow down his movements considerably, making him a sitting duck against top-quality attacks. Excess weight also puts more of a burden on an ageing spine, which then tends to stiffen up more often than it used to. This results in a batsman being late on his shots, especially the ones that need him to bend forward. I have always found that ageing batsmen struggle more against balls that are pitched up rather than ones that are short of a length. If India embraces a fitness policy today, it would start to make the likes of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan squirm right away. An R Ashwin, for all his skills and promise, would be working desperately hard on his fitness today rather than on his carrom ball. Among all countries Australia, I believe, have the best approach to cricket and success in the sport. Fitness for them is like breathing - natural and deep-rooted in their cricketing culture, where an unfit cricketer, for all his skills, will never make the grade. Australia were uncharacteristically patient with the ageing Michael Hussey and Ponting because it was only their batting form that was in question, not their fitness. Skills do matter in the game. Pakistan won a World Cup with low fielding and fitness standards, and in Australia at that. The same can be said about Sri Lanka, who won in 1996, when they were led by a man who often walked his runs. But the teams that rose to the top and stayed there for a decade and more were teams that had fitness, alongside skills, as a non-negotiable in their cricket.

[vvvslaxman]

Zak can be athletic with a bit of work. I have no hopes from Ashwin. He looks so sluggish. Nothing to do with him being tall even though slightly taller guys are somewhat slow . He has to take up other sports to improve his overall athleticism.

[Lurker]

What kills this whole getting fit discussion is folks like Sunny Gavaskar who openly states cricketer need not be bodybuilder, he didnt exercise yada yada. This is often quickly lapped by many Indian fans who use this as an excuse to justify their lifestyle with a "cricketer need to be flexible not well built" etc etc. While fitness itself does not do much, if you have two cricketers one of which is fitter he would be the first pick in most team. What bothers is how young guys like Ashwin are so unfit. Oldies I get, age/stress/life etc...Ashwin/Yuvraj etc????

[Ultimate_Game]

Zak can be athletic with a bit of work. I have no hopes from Ashwin. He looks so sluggish. Nothing to do with him being tall even though slightly taller guys are somewhat slow . He has to take up other sports to improve his overall athleticism.

Zak is way too fragile and injury prone. Even during the WC he had an injury cloud over his head and played through the tourney with a niggle. Considering Zak is 33 now his days are numbered, especially in Tests. Ashwin is a different story altogether. The guy is clearly committed and gives it everything while batting and bowling. Wonder why he hasn't focused on his fitness.

[Ultimate_Game]

What kills this whole getting fit discussion is folks like Sunny Gavaskar who openly states cricketer need not be bodybuilder, he didnt exercise yada yada. This is often quickly lapped by many Indian fans who use this as an excuse to justify their lifestyle with a "cricketer need to be flexible not well built" etc etc. While fitness itself does not do much, if you have two cricketers one of which is fitter he would be the first pick in most team. What bothers is how young guys like Ashwin are so unfit. Oldies I get, age/stress/life etc...Ashwin/Yuvraj etc????

I get the part about cricketers not have physiques like body builders but fitness is much more than body-building. Cricketer has to be fit enough to be able to last 5 days in the test or thrugh a odi in gruelling conditions (heat & humidity of Chennai or heat of Brisbane/Perth). Thsis is especially vital now as batsmen can't depend on substitute runner while batting, and we suffered the most coz of lack of fitness in ENg where we were left with just 3 fit bowlers in the first two Tests. Fitness also has a huge correalation with injuries as unfit players tend to pick up more injuries, just like we are seeing with Zak, Sehwag and Laxman. In this day and age don't really know how a sportsperson can get away without any fitness training.

[Lurker]

I get the part about cricketers not have physiques like body builders but fitness is much more than body-building. Cricketer has to be fit enough to be able to last 5 days in the test or thrugh a odi in gruelling conditions (heat & humidity of Chennai or heat of Brisbane/Perth). Thsis is especially vital now as batsmen can't depend on substitute runner while batting, and we suffered the most coz of lack of fitness in ENg where we were left with just 3 fit bowlers in the first two Tests. Fitness also has a huge correalation with injuries as unfit players tend to pick up more injuries, just like we are seeing with Zak, Sehwag and Laxman. In this day and age don't really know how a sportsperson can get away without any fitness training.

Simple - laziness.

[Ultimate_Game]

Simple - laziness.

In any sports league (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, socccer leagues like Premiership, La Ligua etc.), the franchises/clubs evaluate the players atthe start of the season and at the end of the season, and monitor the fitness levels regularly. They make a plan (including exercise and dietary) for each individual even for off-season to ensure longevity and peak fitness levels of each player. The players are treated like expensive resources coz they are signed to millions of dollars per year contracts and the players have to follow the fitness regime as they are under the contract and have to do what they are told else risk losing their fat contracts. What exactly is our medical staff and physios doing? What is our board/BCCI doing? All the national players are contracted and earn crores of Rs. every year. Are there no fitness related clauses built in the contracts? Someone like Sehwag or Rohit can live solely on butter chicken, paraanthe aur daaru every phucking day and show up looking like he's wrong side of 40 and the board doesn't do anything about it? I say let the players earn their keep - no contracts without fitness clauses as that's the only way to keep them in check and ensure their fitness. They should also undergo regular physicals and their fitness closely monitored so as soon as Sehwag falls off the butter chicken and Shahi Paneer wagon it gets noticed immediately and he's warned he may risk losing his contract if he doesn't shape up in a month's time. If we do so we will see higher fitness levels and improved showing on the field.

[vvvslaxman]

They have an unfit coach at the helm :cantstop:

[Ultimate_Game]

They have an unfit coach at the helm :cantstop:

That's fine but the coach's job is not to perform in the middle. They do have physios and medical staff and they should ensure the lazy @$$es get fit or are reported to BCCI.

[Lurker]

In any sports league (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, socccer leagues like Premiership, La Ligua etc.), the franchises/clubs evaluate the players atthe start of the season and at the end of the season, and monitor the fitness levels regularly. They make a plan (including exercise and dietary) for each individual even for off-season to ensure longevity and peak fitness levels of each player. The players are treated like expensive resources coz they are signed to millions of dollars per year contracts and the players have to follow the fitness regime as they are under the contract and have to do what they are told else risk losing their fat contracts. What exactly is our medical staff and physios doing? What is our board/BCCI doing? All the national players are contracted and earn crores of Rs. every year. Are there no fitness related clauses built in the contracts? Someone like Sehwag or Rohit can live solely on butter chicken, paraanthe aur daaru every phucking day and show up looking like he's wrong side of 40 and the board doesn't do anything about it? I say let the players earn their keep - no contracts without fitness clauses as that's the only way to keep them in check and ensure their fitness. They should also undergo regular physicals and their fitness closely monitored so as soon as Sehwag falls off the butter chicken and Shahi Paneer wagon it gets noticed immediately and he's warned he may risk losing his contract if he doesn't shape up in a month's time. If we do so we will see higher fitness levels and improved showing on the field.

$aala bhook lag gaya... :pardon:

[Ultimate_Game]

bhook lag gaya... :pardon:

I am sure if you visit the Indian dressing room during the lunch break these are the food items you will see on the table

[pensionplan]

Manjrekar proving again he is nothing but a harsh critic of VVS and nothing else. Just a year ago VVS did well in SA, just about 7 months ago he did well in WI'es where India won Tests. So at the time Manjrekar did not have any issues with Laxman's fitness. Even in the Aussie series VVS looked the exact same of what he looked in that SA and WI'es tour a very good slip fielder and not a swift outfielder. Where VVS failed is with the bat and that should be the reason why he should be dropped. Not all these baloney theories that had he been this or that with his fitness he could have scored more runs. VVS works as hard as anyone on his fitness but there is something to to said about what a persons best efforts translates to and to that end VVS's fitness is what it is. It is not as if VVS was lazing without working on his fitness or trying to improve on it. One can never fault a player for being earnest in their efforts. To that end VVS has been a consummate pro and never have been there reports on him to the contrary as they were on some other players. And by the way just putting the so called fit bodies on a cricket field never translates to runs lest the No.6 spot which has been filled by super fit young guns for almost 4 years since Ganguly retired would have outperformed VVS in terms of runs and average and I did not see that. Up untill now VVS was worth every test he has played just based on his deeds over the last 4 years but not on borrowed time. Hope he retires now or the selectors can always pull the plug on him. Let us wait and watch as to what happens.

[vvvslaxman]

That's fine but the coach's job is not to perform in the middle. They do have physios and medical staff and they should ensure the lazy @$ get fit or are reported to BCCI.

Only way we can see Fletcher doing this is by morphing Fletcher's face onto this

[Ultimate_Game]

Only way we can see Fletcher doing this is by morphing Fletcher's face onto this

That's true :haha: It still amazes me why we went with the retread in fletcher. Coaching retreads seldom pan out, and we should have gone with someone younger and energetic.

[akshayxyz]

Can anyone guess who is the guy in the center.

[Sooda]

Guus Hiddink is a top coach, esp internationally so it does not matter if he cannot run 20 miles a day. Plus he is 65. The coach does not need to be fit though, he just needs to know his stuff. And be able to drill fitness into his players- that Hiddink could definitely do

[maniac]

People here talking about coach being a fit guy himself don't have a clue what they are talking about....I am not trying to support Fletcher here but look at Joe Paterno the Penn State Coach....One of the best College Football coaches of all time and he was 80 +till he got fired due to a Scandal that was no fault of his own. Coach has to be someone who formulates the Strategy to be implemented where as the captain is someone who has to succesfully implement that... Back to the point The whole system is ****up....how does half-fit players pass the fitness test is beyond me.... Fitness and athletic ability are two different things....This is where we have to look at other team sports....You cannot expect Jadeja to replace Sehwag just because he is more athletic....Depending on your specialist fielding positions,your role in the team-batsman/bowler etc you should have different fitness regimen.Obviously there should be some set standard for basic fitness regimen but looks like we often confuse the 2

[vvvslaxman]

People here talking about coach being a fit guy himself don't have a clue what they are talking about....I am not trying to support Fletcher here but look at Joe Paterno the Penn State Coach....One of the best College Football coaches of all time and he was 80 +till he got fired due to a Scandal that was no fault of his own. Coach has to be someone who formulates the Strategy to be implemented where as the captain is someone who has to succesfully implement that... Back to the point The whole system is ****up....how does half-fit players pass the fitness test is beyond me.... Fitness and athletic ability are two different things....This is where we have to look at other team sports....You cannot expect Jadeja to replace Sehwag just because he is more athletic....Depending on your specialist fielding positions,your role in the team-batsman/bowler etc you should have different fitness regimen.Obviously there should be some set standard for basic fitness regimen but looks like we often confuse the 2

That is not enough in cricket. They also spend time in fine tuning players technique in all departments. For that they have to be out there spending time with players on the ground. Especially Indian side constantly requires a lot more pushing. It eventually will rub off on to players. I am not sure what the heck Fat fletcher is doing out there. Our fielding gets worse. Our players make basic mistakes again and again. Our bowlers bowl with out any plans batsmen bat without any plans.

[punjabi_khota]

One thing the coaching staff can do is put up the players' numbers public (periodically). E.g. 100 mt. sprint, 1 mile run, weight, etc. That might shame them into doing something.

[Lurker]

One thing the coaching staff can do is put up the players' numbers public (periodically). E.g. 100 mt. sprint' date=' 1 mile run, weight, etc. That might shame them into doing something.[/quote'] Not really. You are expecting much, and anyway some of this information would be deemed private etc. I see better chances of Sreesanth's chiselled physique landing on ICF chit chat forum where people discuss his biceps size and deem him fit.:winky: