Team India Bowling Coach Bharat Arun's plan for bowlers post lockdown
The challenge for the Board of Control in Cricket India (BCCI) right now is to ensure cricketers return to action in a phased yet smooth manner once the nationwide lockdown is over. With Team India being in ‘work from home mode’ like the rest of the country, it seems like a not-so-easy job for the management.
Bowling coach Bharat Arun thinks that the Indian team will need a camp of six-eight weeks before they can resume playing cricket.
"How long can you keep a racehorse locked up? The horse has to run because that's the only thing it knows," Arun told the Times of India.
Arun said that the lockdown is bound to take a toll on the cricketers as all they want to do is play. However, Arun says that the “only solace” is that it’s not just the cricketers but the whole country which is going through this.
"For a professional sportsperson, to be sitting at home doing nothing can be very frustrating. Not being able to expend that energy is like a curse. It can be boring, can be extremely monotonous. But there's no choice and therefore it's a challenge that has to be taken up," he added.
The fitness culture in the dressing room has evolved over the years and that, Arun feels, has helped in optimum training.
"In the present circumstances, all they needed was a programme that is well structured and that's where our trainer Nick Webb and physiotherapist have been doing an excellent job.”
“The four elements that we’ve tried to put in place – running, strength, yo-yo, and endurance – we’ll be raising the bar in all those four areas. Whenever the boys are back on the field, these workloads will be way higher and tougher than before. If they have to match up to it, they’ll have to constantly keep working on various aspects of fitness during isolation,” he added.
However, Bharat also talked about seeing this forced break as an opportunity like never before; something that players can use to prolong their career.
“It’s a challenge that has to be looked at as an opportunity. It’s a rare window because this kind of time will never be available in a professional career. There’s a lot of time to work on fitness - physical and mental. The latter is extremely crucial. It’s extremely important to remain motivated, be ready to return to full flight when the time comes,” he said.
NEXT
