Former India fitness coach breaks down how MS Dhoni and company played in three formats with no injuries

Even though injuries are possible for any athlete, it appears that the Indian cricket team is experiencing a disproportionately high number of them. Because of an injury to his thumb, Rohit Sharma will not participate in the first test of the series that will be played against Bangladesh commencing on Wednesday.

In addition, the fast bowler Mohammed Shami and the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will not be participating in the series since they have not yet made a full recovery from injuries to their shoulders and knees, respectively.

These three ailments are not an outlier; just recently, Jasprit Bumrah was sidelined with an injury and unable to compete in the Twenty20 World Cup.

A number of knowledgeable individuals have hypothesised that India’s overly demanding schedule is one of the factors contributing to the country’s high incidence of player injuries. Others have proposed that the usage of professionals in each format is necessary in order to effectively manage the workload.

Now, Ramji Srinivasan, who was the strength and conditioning coach for the Indian team when they won the World Cup in 2011, has spoken out about the controversy surrounding the matter.

“The selectors and the coaching staff are the ones who are responsible for making decisions regarding which specialists will play in each format. However, it is the responsibility of the strength and conditioning coach to ensure that the athlete is in peak physical condition in the event that the selectors determine that a player will participate in all three versions of the game.

There is no inherent problem with players competing in all three formats simultaneously. Keep in mind that ten years ago, players such as MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan were active in all three formats of the game.

Players were aware of their bodies and possessed the intelligence to figure out what worked best for them. They also shouldn’t automatically agree with whatever an S&C has to say. They need to engage in questioning, “In his writing career, Srinivasan contributed to Indian Express.

“The addition of a third format is a natural progression for the sport, and as far as physical preparation goes, anything is doable. However, in order for that to happen, the tests, the screening, the training, the plan and travel, and the food programme all need to be finalised correctly.

There will be players who are able to compete in all three formats, and the only factor that should matter is skill rather than fitness level. It is necessary to train an all-format player in the appropriate manner if such a person exists.

And one also needs to account for the reality that players get older as time goes on. It is impossible for Virat Kohli to be employing the same strategy he utilised four years ago in his current game.”