At the end of the four-day fitness-specific camp for batsmen, bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad said the players had adapted to the new methods well and become more fitness conscious.
“The camps were held because of the long schedule for the Indian team during which players can get injured. When someone is called up as replacement for the injured player, he should be ready for the challenges in front of him,” Prasad said, while detailing the basic idea behind separate camps for batsmen and bowlers.
“We also wanted to keep the players going soon after the Bangladesh tour, which was tough because of the heat and the humidity. It was not as easy as it had appeared. I know it was tough on the players, but we wanted to continue the concept Greg (Chappell) had introduced,” Prasad, whose tenure as bowling coach was extended to one year on Tuesday, said. “These camps were basically for improving fitness but me and Robin (Singh, the fielding coach) wanted to break the monotony and introduced batting and bowling sessions too, but only briefly,” he added.
Throwing more light on the proceedings of the two camps, Prasad said, “In Mysore, the players tried bowling at one spot and also some variations. In these eight days, the players did core training, strengthening of body and endurance training. Both the camps went off very well. I see some slight change in terms of fitness. Players have been understanding the importance of fitness from the late 1990s.”
The last day of the batsmen’s camp started with the players undergoing routine fitness drills in the morning. In the afternoon session, they sharpened their catching skills under the guidance of Prasad, Robin and trainer Greg King.
Mohammad Kaif did not attend the day’s sessions as the team management allowed him to skip the drills. The players also spent some time with physically challenged children from Mathru foundation, chaired by wheelchair athlete Malathi Holla, in the morning.
The cricket skills camp for those selected for the twin tours to Ireland and England will start on Wednesday afternoon.