Cramped legs and stiff backs are an athlete’s biggest pre-competition enemy, but the Indian cricket team has gone the extra (air) mile to ensure its pace bowlers stay comfortable.
At a T20 World Cup that has demanded breakneck air travel crisscrossing Australia, head coach Rahul Dravid and batting superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have given up their designated business-class seats for the quicks — Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya — so that they get adequate legroom. This has helped them to rest and recover between games.
“Before the tournament, we decided that since the pace bowlers clock the maximum mileage on field day in, day out, they need to stretch their legs,” a support staff member of the Indian team told The Indian Express on its arrival in Adelaide for the semi-final against England on Thursday. The team finished its league engagements Sunday with a win over Zimbabwe. It ended with 8 points from 5 games, topping Group 2.
The Indian team’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has spoken earlier about how they left no stone unturned to ensure the players were match-ready.
“We’ve pretty much thought out everything in terms of the planning, how we want to go about it, and from here on, every session that we have left is an optional one, so in terms of the maintenance, in terms of the physiotherapy, taking care of them, it’s important to have them in the best shape going into every game, and yeah, we’re taking care of that, as well,” Mhambrey had said.
