In the last 24 months, the Indian cricket team has been plagued by injuries. From fast bowlers to specialist batsmen to all-rounders, ill-timed breakdowns have affected team combinations ahead of important fixtures, and even multi-national tournaments such as World Cup and Asia Cup.
Very few players are now playing continuously in all three formats and frequent rest between series/tournaments has become common. Why the frequent breakdowns? Is workload management really needed? the former India Strength and conditioning coach Ramji Srinivasan throws light on injuries, workload management and more in an exclusive chat with News18 CricketNext.
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“See there are a lot of factors that cause injury. The four main factors that we need to address holistically are biological, physical, psychological and socio-cultural. A lot of pointers fall under these four parameters. Talking about injuries, there are many aspects to it. When did these injuries happen? Largely fast bowlers, or wicketkeepers or spin bowlers are involved. We need to ask where it started and why it started. We need to ask What is needed is what started this tsunami of injuries. Basically the source of the injury. How everyone is getting injured, says Ramji, who served as Team India’s strength and conditioning coach during the 2011 World Cup. Which never used to happen before.”
‘People are different’
Injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have hurt India the most in the last 12-18 months. While Hardik is back to full fitness and is having a dream run from the 2022 edition of IPL onwards, Bumrah was included in the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The seamer missed the 2022 T20 World Cup and is now back in the Indian cricket team’s set-up ahead of a crucial two years that included two World Cups and the all-important home Test versus Australia. In Ramji’s opinion, everyone is different and needs to approach their body/fitness differently. One template may not apply to all players and personalization is key.
“As I said, individuals are different. You can’t have one template for all players. Every player needs a different template. If you’re going to follow the same pattern, they warm-up. ups will break in the match itself. So communication is very important. It is very important for an athlete to know his body. So programs need to be personalized right from the practice session itself. You cannot generalize. Times have changed. Can’t apply the principles which you applied 10-15 years back. Lifestyle has changed, thinking has changed. A lot has changed due to change in lifestyle. You have to adapt and adopt protocols as per the need of the hour,” Ramji says.
There are only a handful of players in the last 24 months, who have featured in all three formats and the IPL. Breakdowns between series have become a common sight and forced rotation has come into play for major fixtures and tournaments to keep first-choice players fresh and injury-free. The BCCI also addressed the issue of workload management in its January 1 review meeting. For Ramji, understanding the parameters involved is more important than workload management.
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“We also need to understand the fancy term called workload management. What do you understand by workload management? We need to understand the parameters involved in workload management. Workload management needs to involve these four parameters. If you are a Even if you miss one, you’re not going to get the right data. You make a nice presentable dish and forget to add salt, everything gets a toss. Workload management should include all four of these metrics. Once You get those four metrics and then what do you infer from the data, and then you’re differentiating the needs of each player according to their skill or the format they’re on, at the right place at the right time. Going to reach the top says Ramji.
workload management
Having worked with a pool of players who have played almost everything – all three formats and the IPL and travel for almost 300 days a year – Ramji feels it is very much possible to play in all three formats, provided one trains one’s body. Understand and exercise, recover and be healthy. Nutrition program accordingly. He appreciates the facilities put in place by the Indian cricket board and feels that it is up to the current S&C team to make the most of it for the betterment of the Indian cricket team.
“It is very possible. What has changed now is the mindset. Now a lot has changed for the positive as well. At that time we never had so many support staff. We had a physio, a trainer, a massage therapist And there were two coaches. So not more than 6-7. Now we have 20 people. And great facilities wherever you go. Lots of advantages compared to the opposition. BCCI will give you the best of the best. When you ask for the best They give you the best. They don’t have any arrogance. No one can blame BCCI for anything. They want the players to get the best of the best. Support staff benefits the players and the country How one uses it for, it is most important.
All the players then played all three formats. Except Sachin who didn’t play T20. But the rest also played IPL, ODIs, T20Is and Tests and also traveled 300 days in a year. There is a missing link that we need to find now because in 2011 all those players were in their 30s during the World Cup and we can be very proud that none of the players suffered injuries due to fitness. It’s important to keep it simple and not complicate it with a lot of jargon or information. The dexa and the yo-yo are just one tool and there are many missing links we need to find to overcome this tsunami of injuries,” says Ramji.
communication is key
The respected coach believes that fitness cannot be one-sided and there should be constant communication between sportspersons and fitness coaches. He recalls his time with the Indian cricket team when players from Sachin to Gambhir and Sehwag used to “grill” him on fitness and kept asking him questions in every session. Fitness has to be individual but Ramji says there has to be coordination and everyone in the team needs to focus on the bigger picture.
“Don’t ask me, they used to question me because everyone wants to play for the country and it is my duty to tell what are the goals everyday. It started when I joined in 2009 Virat Kohli Everyone from Suresh Raina used to grill me. From Gauti to Dhoni and Viru, everyone. It is my duty to make them understand and if I don’t know, I don’t know. We need to understand that cricket is a team game, not an individual game. So there should be coordination and the mindset should at least be common. This is not going to be a player that I am going to fit in. There should be coordination between all the players so that they start the journey and compliment each other. So this is the right fitness for a team,” says Ramji.
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