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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: Unlucky or preventable? Questions raise over Indian players' fitness in England
A week after the Lord's Test, the BCCI, through a press release, shared three things about all-rounder Nitish Reddy – he had a left-knee injury, he was flying home and the team had wished him speedy recovery. Few hours later, at the start of India's first full outdoor training session at Manchester, pacer Akash Deep was giving a fitness test and was watched by an anxious bunch of coaches and national selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar. Akash Deep didn't bowl at the nets on Monday and is unlikely to play the crucial fourth Test of the India-England series that the home team leads 2-1. Injuries to both Akash Deep and Reddy, after just two back-to-back Tests, haven't gone down well with the team management. After the Lord's Test, players had been asked to improve their fitness and wheels have already started moving to put in place a proper protocol for assessing the pre-tour fitness of players. Going ahead, especially for a long tour, the information about niggles and injuries a player is carrying needs to be put on the table. The new leadership group is keen to have a transparent and robust fitness regime since these sudden and frequent breakdowns are impacting the team's plans and potentially the final result of Tests and the series. Former Team India trainer Ramji Srinivasan, who was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach with the 2011 World Cup winning team, says there is scope of improving the system. 'I would definitely say it is very unfortunate these things happened in the middle of the tour. I think better precautionary measures could have been taken by the support staff,' he says. 'There needs to be predictability about non-match injuries. There should be protocols in place – testing and assessment prior to the tour.' At present at the National Cricket Academy, the destination for all wounded cricketers, there are protocols in place but don't seem to be working and that has put a spanner in the planning. After Birmingham, where Akash Deep took 6 wickets, India seemed to have cracked their pace combination. But the optimism didn't even last one full Test. In the middle of the Lord's Test, Akash Deep would walk gingerly out of the field, holding his hip. Mohammed Siraj, at the press conference, did comment on his pace partner's fitness. 'Akash Deep's groin has some issues, so he has to be with the physio. He bowled in the morning but I don't have any feedback from the physio yet,' he said. Akash Deep had a niggle at the start of the tour – coach Gautam Gambhir had said this at the press conference – and that was why Delhi pacer Harshit Rana was called as a back-up. The Bengal pacer sat out for the first Test and only after a scan was done, he was declared match-fit. Rana was sent home. Now, another pacer has been flown in. Today Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj trained with the team. At Manchester, with the pitch looking damp from a distance and a heavy cloud cover over-head, the conditions seem ideal to unleash the best of Indian pacers. But it could well be an untested and debutant making the cut. Kamboj can get into the team, in case the team management chose him over Prasidh Krishna, who hasn't been able to control his length on this tour. The Indian team also might have liked to have Nitish in the mix at Manchester. At Lord's, the pace all-rounder got the important breakthrough, bowled 17 overs and also had a promising partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. For a management keen on a long batting line-up, Nitish was their ideal man. Nitish is an intriguing case. Was he Test-series ready when he landed in England? All through the IPL, the all-rounder bowled just 5 overs. Daniel Vettori, the coach at SRH where Nitish plays, during the IPL had explained how it was because of injuries he was being under-bowled. 'He brought a side-strain into the tournament, which obviously he has had throughout. That is the reason he missed a lot of cricket prior to that and then it was just a slow, meticulous build-up,' Vettori said. Was it the load of 17 overs being too much on the body of a player with a history of injuries? Expert trainers say that modern science can actually predict injuries but the assessment has to be scientific and the players also need to be honest about their first fitness. 'There are various reasons for a player's breakdown. It could be the wrong movement pattern, muscle overload but take away suppleness, lack of athletic training, and workload management. It could also be the case of a player concealing fitness (concerns),' says an expert on condition of anonymity. But despite these many reasons, the potential injuries to players can be predicted. 'All joints, all muscles have to be tested for strength and power and other things. There is equipment available in the market to do the fitness testing. These are things that should be etched in stone and part of protocol before a series.' Along with the injuries that can be controlled are the ones that can't be. India, as luck would have it, have players who got wounded on the field. Just when it seemed that left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh would finally get a game, he got injured and got ruled out of the Test. This was confirmed by the BCCI in its press release. It was while stopping a ball in follow-through in the nets that resulted in him getting a cut and subsequently stitches. The pitch and conditions would have aided Arshdeep's swing but for the fourth straight Test he will be on drinks duty. Today at the nets, Rishabh Pant too seemed to have recovered from the hit he took on the index finger at Lord's. He was the keeper when the slip-cordon was taking catches. Once in a while he would show pain when holding a sharp catch but would continue to train. Meanwhile, in the spin-net was the perpetual picture of the tour – left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav constantly testing batsmen. Will he finally get a Test? Him getting into the team for the Manchester Test would be an irony. This would be the case of 'horses not for courses'. Kuldeep should have played at Lord's but was sitting out. He should be sitting out in Manchester but because of injuries and multiple combination complications he might just play.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Trouble mounts for India ahead of fourth Test
MANCHESTER: With the crucial fourth Test at Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester only a couple of days away, India's troubles only seem to be mounting. Amid all the uncertainties over pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the match and a cut in Arshdeep Singh's bowling hand, which required stitches, the visitors now have to deal with Akash Deep's injury. Given the situation they are in, Shubman Gill and Co have added Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj to the squad for the fourth match scheduled to begin on Wednesday. The pacer reached Manchester on Sunday. Akash Deep, the 28-year-old right-arm fast bowler, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, featured in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year and suffered back injury ahead of the fifth match in Sydney before being ruled out of the series. He then spent a couple of months at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation before joining his IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants. He replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test at Edgbaston and claimed ten wickets (four in the first innings and six in the next) playing a key role in India's win over their opponents. Akash Deep bowled 20 overs in the first essay and followed it up with 21.1 overs in the second innings.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
IND vs ENG: Mohammed Siraj, front and centre! With two Tests to go, can India protect him from burnout?
Manchester: It seemed like a picnic environment when the Indian cricket team went to the Kent county ground for a practice session last Thursday. Music played in the dressing room and the players were largely left on their own to decide how they wanted to use the three hours at the ground. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'Burnout' was the last thing on the team management's mind. , however, looked restless and had his 'game face' on at all times. Having just played three gruelling Tests, he was restricted from bowling in the nets. But he did pad up and had a longish session with the bat even as and Akash Deep had light sessions in the gym. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! While the talk about India's pace attack has largely revolved around Bumrah's workload, Siraj has now become the most important pacer for India on this tour. Suddenly, the team management has to think about ways of preserving him in order to ensure Siraj is at his best in the next two Tests. 'Siraj is not someone who's going to shy away from the workload, so it makes it even more important for us to manage his workload and make sure that he's at least fit to give his best,' India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had said after the session. India's bowling coach had earlier said that they have to literally take the ball out of Siraj's hands in practice sessions. Curbing Siraj's enthusiasm was the greatest challenge for coaches both at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and in the Team India setup during the fast bowler's initial years. Why Team India came to Manchester from London via train and walked in rain There was an underlying concern over Siraj's form when the team for the England tour was picked. His poor returns on lively pitches in Australia seven months ago had raised alarm bells about India's pace resources, especially with slowly fading away due to fitness issues. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now That Siraj was still bowling like a third seamer was a big concern for the team management and selectors. In England, however, Siraj has looked like a bowler who has put in a lot of thought into his preparation, besides being all heart. Former Team India strength and condition coach Soham Desai told TOI that Siraj had asked him to devise a workout programme even before the Australia tour since he wanted to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. Siraj went for the pilgrimage just before the Champions Trophy. 'Siraj was very deflated after the Australia tour and after being dropped from the Champions Trophy squad. He came to India and bowled with all his heart in a Ranji Trophy match. It is always difficult to explain to him that he doesn't have to burn himself out. But even before we travelled to Australia, we discussed how many days he will be off training and designed a workout programme accordingly,' Desai said. Lord's museum tour: Cricket's greatest artifacts and the stories behind them Former India pacer Amit Bhandari, who is an assistant coach at Gujarat Titans, noticed that Siraj had been talking a lot about bowling with his fellow pacers like Prasidh Krishna and didn't only focus on bowling T20 lengths and variations during the IPL. 'He bowled long spells at nets. While he had to focus on the variations for the IPL, he generally bowled Test match lengths. Siraj and Prasidh were inseparable. They sat together in team buses and had all their meals together. He was super focused on talking about bowling in general even with head coach Ashish Nehra,' Bhandari said. Before the tour started, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun, who has been instrumental in discovering Siraj at Hyderabad in 2016, had told TOI that this England tour was an opportunity for Siraj to put his hand up and prove he could be the frontline bowler for India. Poll Do you think Mohammed Siraj is ready to lead India's pace attack? Absolutely, he's proven himself. Not yet, he needs more experience. Maybe, depending on his performance. No, we need a more seasoned bowler. 'What kind of mindset he has is going to be vital. He's pretty smart. Siraj is someone who can be a captain's delight, someone who will give his all. It's good to be aggressive, but controlling it is going to be key,' Arun had said. Having turned 31 four months ago, Siraj's approach in the field suggests he is growing into the role of a senior bowler. He has not let his emotions get the better of him. Interestingly, his bowling average comes down to 23 from his career average 31 when Bumrah isn't playing. Akash Deep had credited Siraj for his 10-wicket haul in the second Test, which India won in Bumrah's absence at Edgbaston. 'Siraj bhai keeps talking to me during the game. We discuss what's happening from each end and how we can plot a batsman's dismissal,' Akash Deep had said during the second Test. Ryan ten Doeschate press conference: Updates on Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh 'I think we take for granted how lucky we are to have someone like Siraj. I know he doesn't always have the returns that you expect from a fast bowler. But in terms of heart, he's like a lion and whenever he has the ball in hand, you always feel like something's going to happen,' ten Doeschate had said on Thursday. In England, Siraj has brought all his experience into play. It has been a long road for the caretakers of Indian cricket to prepare Siraj for the day when he can confidently lead an attack. In 2017, Siraj was here in England with the India 'A' team followed by a tour of New Zealand four months later. At that time, then-India 'A' bowling coach had devised a bowlingagainst-the-wind plan. The sole objective was to keep players outside their comfort zones while in the field. Abhay Sharma, who was the fielding coach with the India 'A' team, had once told TOI, 'When you first make it to the highest level, there will be senior bowlers in the team. Senior bowlers get the option to choose the ends. Siraj learnt how to bowl against the wind and to manage the workload while bowling against the wind all day.' At Edgbaston, where he picked up 6/70 in the first innings on a placid pitch, Siraj stopped in his runup quite a few times. He didn't lose the run-up. He actually chose to bowl into the blustery wind to give Akash Deep easier conditions to bowl. With two matches remaining in the series, India will hope for Siraj to keep growing as a lead pacer irrespective of Bumrah's presence in the XI. Akash Deep struggling with back niggle Heavy rain greeted the Indian team when they arrived here in Manchester on Saturday. Trailing 1-2 in the series, the team management is working overtime to sort out the pace attack for the fourth Test match beginning on Wednesday. It has emerged Akash Deep is nursing a back niggle. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh had split the webbing on his bowling hand during practice. Akash Deep, it is learnt, has developed a sore back that has troubled him in the past. He struggled to get through the second innings at Lord's last week. He is still not certain to start in the fourth Test on Wednesday. The medical team is working hard to get him back in shape.
India Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
Ravindra Jadeja's lack of trust in tail cost India Lord's Test: World Cup winner
1983 World Cup winner Balwinder Singh Sandhu has raised questions over Ravindra Jadeja's decision-making in the concluding moments of India's tense run chase at Lord's. The veteran pacer suggested that a lack of trust by the all-rounder with the tail cost the visitors the third Test. Chasing 193 against England in the third Test match, India fell just 22 runs short, helping England take a 2-1 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar 112 for 8 at lunch on the final day, India's chances looked dim. But the No.1 ranked all-rounder Jadeja held firm, stitching brave lower-order stands with Bumrah and later Mohammed Siraj. His unbeaten 61 off 181 balls gave India hope as they edged closer to the target. However, a key moment towards the end of the innings has become the centre of post-match felt that Jadeja may have had the fear of failing or pressure of not trusting the tail got the better of the all-rounder in the chase. 'Coming to the final moments, Ravindra Jadeja is someone I've known since his U-19 days at the National Cricket Academy. Even back then, he showed maturity beyond his age. He's a smart cricketer, calm under pressure, but this time, maybe the fear of failing, or the pressure of not trusting the tail, got the better of him,' Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day.'If only Jadeja had trusted Bumrah a bit more'The 68-year-old further explained how the left-hander might have missed a golden opportunity by not backing Bumrah.'If only he had trusted Jasprit Bumrah a bit more, especially when Bumrah was defending so well, and resisted taking that single off the fourth ball to retain strike. Had he backed himself to finish it in those last two balls, with the field up, it was a perfect moment to go for the boundary,' said Sandhu. Jadeja's approach during the run-chase has divided opinion amongst fans and pundits as Anil Kumble felt that the all-rounder should have taken more risks in the end. India captain Shubman Gill and Sunil Gavaskar defended the approach from Jadeja and felt it was the right way to go about the chase. - EndsTune InMust Watch
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Balwinder Singh Sandhu on Ravindra Jadeja's approach in Lord's chasing 193: If only he had trusted Jasprit Bumrah a bit more…
Ravindra Jadeja was the only recognized batter left with Jasprit Bumrah when India were chasing 193. India were tattering at 112/8 when Jadeja and Bumrah got together. However, through patience and grit, Jadeja managed to build a partnership with Bumrah and Siraj later to take India closer to the target. Although both Bumrah and Siraj fell, Jadeja remained unbeaten till the end as India lost the game by 22 runs. 'Coming to the final moments, Ravindra Jadeja is someone I've known since his U-19 days at the National Cricket Academy. Even back then, he showed maturity beyond his age. He's a smart cricketer, calm under pressure, but this time, maybe the fear of failing, or the pressure of not trusting the tail, got the better of him,' Former India cricketer Balwinder Singh Sandhu in his Mid-Day column. 'If only he had trusted Jasprit Bumrah a bit more – especially when Bumrah was defending so well – and resisted taking that single off the fourth ball to retain strike. Had he backed himself to finish it in those last two balls, with the field up, it was a perfect moment to go for the boundary,' he added. Another Indian cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara, supported Jadeja. 'He couldn't have scored faster on that track. I felt that it was because the ball was soft, and the pitch was on the slower side. I guess, Jadeja would have thought that the tailenders were batting well and the team was getting close to the total. And once they were a little closer he would have taken his chances. I thought he was batting well. It was very difficult to score runs on that pitch,' says Pujara. 'The only thing he could have done better is to look to score down the ground. Like there was a gap between mid-off and cover,' Pujara said Jadeja could have done differently.
