Indian team's fitness culture has rubbed down on domestic level, feels Paras Mhambrey
India A coach Paras Mhambrey has stated that the fitness culture of the Indian team has rubbed down on the junior and domestic level, something that has been a culture change. The former Indian pacer has also added that the NCA trainer raises the red flag if a bowler is overbowled in state level.
The Virat Kohli phenomenon of high fitness levels has not only made the Indian team a great bunch of fitness enthusiasts, but it has also resulted in the world following the rigorous training methods of the Indian skipper. Not only that the junior and domestic players have started giving importance to the fitness training as much as they do for skills, something Paras Mhambrey, who has a definitive vantage point to speak of, believes in.
"Fitness is an integral part of Indian cricket culture now. The youngsters see how the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja all work hard on their fitness drills. The Indian team's fitness culture has rubbed down on the junior and domestic level as well. Youngsters understand that if you have the fitness, it enhances your skills. Most youngsters who come to us these days are physically very strong," Mhambrey told Times of India.
"This is due to enhanced fitness and proper biomechanics. You don't see physios and trainers on the ground but a lot of work goes on behind the scenes, in the off-season too. Fitness is the prime reason, and also the biomechanics work we do to make sure the technique is not an issue. I think this combination is working well. You need to monitor these kids closely for a couple of years. Only once they are 23-24, they become aware of what they need to do. They are also inspired by what they see at the top. Ishant, Bumrah, Shami, Umesh, Bhuvi...all of them bowl at 140-plus," he added.
While the role of National Cricket Academy has come into doubt in recent times, especially because of the fitness goof-ups of many pacers, the A-tour has been a fine feeder system for the national team lately. Mhambrey stated that the coaches make a lot of visits around the country to track players during Ranji Trophy matches while the NCA physio and trainer work with them to keep track of things. He also praised the efforts of the boards to make those tour happen, which was financially difficult.
"That's where the India 'A' structure comes in. We do a lot of away tours so they are aware of the conditions. Of course, players by then know home conditions in and out. The challenge is when a person graduates to playing for the country, he should already have experience of playing in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand etc. This whole U-19 and 'A' structure is the brainchild of Rahul Dravid. When I was playing, I had only one India 'A' tour in my whole career. Now, you have so many. Credit should go to BCCI, it's not cheap. It's a challenge to organize these tours... sometimes other boards don't have enough money so BCCI bears the costs. Such gestures often go unrecognized.
"From our (NCA) side, we remain in touch. Our trainer Anand Datey shares schedules, monitors the progress of each player. We have an app to monitor and collect as much data as possible. Often, Datey will raise the red flag if a player has been over-bowled at the state level," the former pacer added.
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