India Fielding Coach R Sridhar Declares A Four-Phased Training Regime For Match-Readiness

As other cricketing nations prepare for their teams to resume training, BCCI has also begun taking the initiative for the same. India’s fielding coach R Sridhar has announced that they will organize a training camp for the men in blue in a phased manner. Cricketing activities have come to a sudden halt, owing to COVID-19 pandemic with the last instance of international cricket having taken place in March.

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Earlier, India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun requested the same to the BCCI that an extended training camp would be required to get the players back in shape for international cricket. With the players missing competitive cricket for more than two months now, they will need intense drills, especially the fast bowlers. The cricketers have currently resorted to limited training while staying indoors.

R Sridhar opined that a maximum of 4-6 weeks camp would be needed for the players to get ready to play at the highest level again. They are waiting for the approval from BCCI and the government of India after which they will proceed in phases. He also went on to explain the stages in a detailed manner so that it gets appropriately conducted and carefully. India have a high-profile tour of Australia scheduled later this year, where they would play all three formats.

“I think if you have a camp for 4-6 weeks, we can bring them to peak match readiness…fast bowler needs around 6 weeks, batsmen might take a bit less time. Once we get a date (on the start of national camp) from the BCCI and approved by the government of India, we can start working backwards (starting from scratch),” Sridhar stated as quoted by India Today.

“The challenge is to proceed in the right phases as players can get excited when they play after 14 or 15 weeks. First phase, it will be ‘low volume-low intensity’, followed by ‘moderate volume-low intensity’, ‘high volume-moderate intensity’ and then starts ‘high volume-high intensity’ training. This is how we will go,” he added.

It’s pertinent that we move in the right manner forward: R Sridhar

R Sridhar further said that it’s imperative that they do everything carefully in a level-headed away and not too fast. The former Hyderabad left-arm spinner suggested that the workload has to be moderate at the start; otherwise, it can cause injuries and stress.

“It’s pertinent that we move in the right manner forward. Don’t want to look too much ahead. Initially, we have to give them a progressive workload. You can’t have a sudden spike in workload which could lead to injuries.” he added further.

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