‘Don’t forget, Dhoni played in all three formats’- India’s 2011 World Cup winning trainer on Team India’s injury crisis

The Indian team is hit by a hoard of injuries that have derailed their tournament in chances. Earlier in Asia Cup 2022 Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah got injured forcing India to play with a weaker playing XI and crashing out before the Final.

India’s luck did not improve as both Jadeja and Bumrah could not recover on time proving again a reason for India’s 20-20 World Cup exit. Later against Bangladesh, both Rohit Sharma and Deepak Chahar also got injured in a series-losing endeavour.

The rising number of injuries in the team has given raise to a lot of questions with suggestions coming in favour of specialist players for each format. Former Team India trainer Ramji Srinivasan who helped the team achieve World Cup 2011 however has a different take on the problem. He has compared today’s current crop with MS Dhoni.

“This question has been lingering around for a lot of time. Picking specialists for each format is a call that has to be taken by the selectors and the coaching staff. But if the selectors decide that a player is going to feature in all three formats, it is the duty of the strength and conditioning coach to keep the player fit. There is nothing wrong in players featuring in all three formats. Don’t forget, 10 years ago, you had MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan featuring in all three formats. Players understood their body and were smart enough to know what worked for them. And they shouldn’t follow what an S&C says blindly. They should ask questions,” Srinivasan wrote for The Indian Express. He has suggested that fit players would be able to play all three formats.

“Playing three formats is an evolution of the game and as far as fitness goes, everything is possible. But for that, testing, screening, training, plan & travel and diet schedule have to be finalised accordingly. There will be players who are equipped to play all three formats and only skill should determine it, not fitness. If there is an all-format player, he has to be trained accordingly. And as a player ages, one has to factor in that as well. Virat Kohli can’t be following the same process now that he was doing four years ago.

You need to work in tandem- Srinivasan

“You need to have an open line of communication between all the trainers – Indian team, Ranji Trophy, IPL or India A – and work in tandem. Too much information can also cause problems. A set protocol has to be in place for testing, screening and methodology in training,” he added. He has also suggested proper screening of players after the Indian T20 League as many go through injury in transition.

“After every Indian T20 League, it is common to see players gaining weight, fatigue, mental fatigue because of tension and travel. Someone has to take responsibility for the fitness of a player. This has to start from the Under-14 level. Setting up the process, template for a fitness programme is essential, or else we are just going to be shooting in the dark.”