Sridhar charts path ahead

New Delhi, June 2: India’s fielding coach R. Sridhar says a four-phased training module is being prepared for the country’s elite cricketers, who can attain peak match fitness with four to six weeks of training once the camp gets the go-ahead to start.

Sridhar, who has been an integral part of the Indian cricket set-up since 2014, spoke on how the team will be training to get ready for the rigours of international cricket post the Covid-19 lockdown.

“I think if you have a camp for four-six weeks, we can bring them to peak match readiness...fast bowler needs around 6 weeks, batsmen might take a bit less time,” Sridhar said.

“Once we get a date (on start of national camp) from the BCCI and approved by the government of India, we can start working backwards (starting from scratch). The challenge is to proceed in right phases as players can get excited when they play after 14 or 15 weeks.

Sridhar stressed on workload management and warned that pushing too hard would only cause

Indian cricket team’s coach Ravi Shastri (from right), captain Virat Kohli and fielding coach R. Sridhar in this file photo.

injuries. “Initially, we have to give them progressive workload. You can't have a sudden spike in workload which could lead to injuries,” said the former Hyderabad leftarm spinner.

The coach then explained how they can go about it. “First phase, it will be ‘low volume-low intensity’, followed by 'moderate volume-low intensity’, ‘high volumemoderate intensity' and then starts 'high volumehigh

intensity' training. This is how we will go,” he said.

And what will constitute low-volume-low intensity training? Sridhar said it would vary. “May be the fast bowlers will bowl two overs from half or quarter run-up. The deliveries will be bowled at 20 or 30 percent intensity. For a fielder, it will be at the maximum, six throws over 10 metres or 6 throws over 20 metres at 40 to 50 per cent intensity. For a

batsman, it will start with five to six minutes of batting against moderate pace bowling,” he explained.

“For catchers, it will start with semi-soft balls, intensity will be slow and volumes will be less. Then we can slowly pick it up as we cross one phase after another,” he said.

It will be around the fourth week that matchintensity training will start. — PTI