Dom Sibley Reveals The Time He Felt The Need To Lose His Weight

England batsman Dom Sibley has been one of the breakthrough cricketers for the national team, unearthed during the South African tour early this year. While he made his debut in November against New Zealand, Dom Sibley was amongst the runs in South Africa where he contributed significantly to England’s victory. Meanwhile, a few months ago, Sibley revealed to have felt about his growing weight and what motivated him to lose it.

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It was during the eventually cancelled Sri Lankan tour slated to take place in March that was the motivation behind Dom Sibley’s willingness to get fitter. During the visit for the two-Test series, the visitors played only two practice matches in which Sibley scored 14, 0, 37 before the tour was called off, owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Surrey batsman will now take part in the three-Test series against West Indies at home, commencing from the 8th of July.

The 24-year-old conceded that in Sri Lanka, it was the first time when he felt complex about his physique. Sitting on the plane, the right-handed batsman thought to himself; he needed to do something about it.

“In Sri Lanka, for the first time in my career, I felt a little bit self-conscious about my physique and my weight. I just remember sitting on the plane and thinking, ‘I need to do something’,” the 24-year old said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Sibley continued saying that watching Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler sweat it out in training drills in Colombo, it was an eye-opener. Dom Sibley aimed to adopt their work ethics, efforts, and the hard work that they put in and wants to do it consistently like them.

“Ben Stokes is a bit of a freak when it comes to his training. Actually, it was seeing him, Root and Buttler running after a session in Colombo. I remember being absolutely spent so that was a real eye-opener. Seeing these guys and the graft they put in to stay at this level for the amount of time they have done, is something that I want to do,” he maintained.

It’s not necessarily going to improve my batting: Dom Sibley

The English opening batsman went on to say that he did not lose the weight to improve his batting and asserted that his fitness has never affected it either. However, losing a few extra pounds will help him move in the field with more agility and survive longer on the ground with minimal injuries.

Dom Sibley will open the innings alongside Rory Burns in the forthcoming series, having played six Tests and scoring 362 runs alongside a century. The three-Test series marks the return of international cricket that has been on a halt for more than four months due to COVID-19 health crisis.

“I’ve never felt tired batting. My fitness has never affected my batting. It’s not necessarily going to improve my batting. But it might help my agility in the field. And carrying less weight might keep me on the park for longer with fewer niggles,” Sibley added.

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