COVID-19: ‘Space constraints leave Indian players at disadvantage’
New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Indian cricketers have a disadvantage due to the lack of space they have to train during the ongoing lockdown that has been imposed to tackle coronavirus, according to Rajasthan Royals physio John Gloster.
“The physical constraints that the Indian players are now having seems to be a lot greater than that of the guys in say, South Africa, Australia or the UK, because space is an incredible constraint here,” he told ESPNCricinfo.
“I’ve seen some fantastic footage coming out of the players in the UK where they’re in their own gyms and they’ve got lots of space, and I think the Indian boys are going to be perhaps at a physical disadvantage there.”
The 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and almost all other professional cricket competitions around the world have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The IPL is scheduled for an April 15 start although BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that crucial decisions including a revised schedule can be taken only when the situation close to that date can be assessed. It has come under further uncertainty due to a three-week lockdown in India that ends on April 15.
Gloster however feels that the flipside of this enforced break from the packed cricketing calendar is that many of the younger players get time to work on the mental side of their game.
“There are going to be some great learnings for these guys about themselves, about how you switch off and get away from cricket, and what strategies can you use now that will make you better when we go back to the game. Because the best players in the world are the ones that can actually switch off from cricket and mentally relax when they need to,” he said.
“The Rahul Dravids of the world were great readers. Shane Warne did whatever Shane Warne did outside of his game time. I don’t think modern cricketers are very good at that, it’s just cricket or nothing else. So this could be a great opportunity to find hobbies other relaxation techniques, and drill a little deeper into their own psyches.”
–IANS
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