SA vs ENG | Leaner by at least four to five kilos after immense training, reveals Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi was last seen in a South African jersey in October 2019 when they took on India in the three-match Test series. After that, injury struck him yet again, ruling him out from any cricket for the next four months. Following his long spell away from cricket, the lanky South African pacer made his comeback in the ‘conditioning camp.’ The bowler, following his comeback performance against the Lions, admitted that he is leaner by at least four to five kilos after an immense training in the pre-season. 

“I have lost about four or five kilos during my time off from cricket. Running, bowling, gymming. It's just a block [of time] where you can 100% focus on training. It's a lot harder in season to get that conditioning done. So to get that time off and be able to do that was the main thing about it," Ngidi said ahead of the ODI series against England. 

With the strengthening and conditioning coaches around, Ngidi made the fullest use of them to lose weight and get into the perfect shape ahead of his comeback into the national team. Further, the 23-year-old revealed that a lot of training goes behind the scenes after just recovering from a hamstring injury. 

"You speak to dietitians, you work with strength and conditioning coaches, you try find the best way to lose weight and also maintain strength and fitness. There's a lot that goes into it behind the scenes. You've got to limit a lot more things that are harmful to your body. It's the lifestyle of being a sportsman,” he added.

While the pacer admitted that the T20 World Cup is quite far down the line, his goal is to win the series and regain the form that he hit during his debut season with the national team.  

“Our aim is to win the series. Even if they were here it would be the same: to win the series. They're good players, but a good ball is a still a good ball on any day. Everyone's fighting for a spot there, but that's quite far down the line.”