Reporter Asks VVS Laxman Why Players Are Using Private Trainers. His Reply Can't Be Missed
VVS Laxman was asked about Team India players using private trainers. He said it was the first time he heard such a thing.
- VVS Laxman was asked about reports suggesting some players are using 'personal trainers' in their rehab
- He said the Strength and Conditioning team is responsible for tracking the players' development
- "This is news to me. Indian team S&C is responsible of keeping a track of the contracted players"
One of the finest batters to have played for India, VVS Laxman has taken up a tough task as the head of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). While the CoE has helped India nurture many young cricketers and helped others bounce back from injury setbacks, Laxman has recently come under criticism over Team India's growing injury crisis and the release of 'not 100 percent fit players' from the centre. Speaking in a press conference, together with the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, Laxman was asked about reports suggesting some players are using 'personal trainers' in their rehab. The former India batter admitted being surprised by the claim.
Laxman countered the question, saying the Strength and Conditioning team is responsible for tracking the players' development.
"This is news to me, you know. And I think there's a lot of news which is happening, but as I told, the way we do is the Indian team S&C is responsible of keeping a track of the contracted players. The S&Cs at the COE are responsible to keep a track of the targeted and the age-group players."
"Everything is there on the AMS. Every session of the player is there on the AMS, and that's why we use the GPS where wherever the player is doing, whatever he is doing is documented out there."
Laxman further defended the credentials of the BCCI's current Strength & Conditioning (S&C) staff, highlighting their vast experience and the strong trust shared with the squad.
"If you see the men and women team's trainer, now Adrian, is a world-class trainer. In 2002, I remember he was our first foreign fitness trainer, and the quality of him has got no questions around his qualities. So I'm sure he knows how to manage the contracted players," he said.
"And now Nick, who recently joined the Indian women's team, is again a very experienced S&C professional. All these professionals are not only experienced but they're knowledgeable, and their understanding of each and every player in their respective group is there."
"The trust and the coordination between the S&C and the players, as far as my knowledge is concerned, is going on. So if you're saying something else, that's news to me."
Laxman further highlighted the step-by-step process an athlete undergoes upon arriving at the Bengaluru-based Centre of Excellence.
"The process starts with diagnosing the injury and finishes with a player declared fit after the two RTP [Return To Play] matches we have. Diagnosing, obviously, wherever the player gets injured... if it's the Indian team, the Indian team physio understands the nature of the injury. And then we've got experts and specialists with whom we have got a year-long connection."
"We go to Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala as far as stress fracture for the back is concerned. Dr Dinshaw is our go-to doctor in Mumbai for shoulder, knee, in fact a lot more injuries. Then we've got Dr Kini, who is a foot and ankle specialist. We've got Dr Warrier, who is our hand and wrist specialist. And then we've got three doctors... one in England who takes care of the surgeries of the ankle, one doctor in Munich who takes care of the sports hernia, and one doctor in South Africa."
"We've got three specialists who are the ones who read the scans and tell what is there in the scans. Once the diagnosis is established, the athlete transitions through clinical, physical, and skill phases."
"From the time they come here, two things which we do: obviously we clinically examine and assess them. Based on that assessment, we know what is the plan of action for them to recover and go back and join the team. The physio plays a part, and once the player is ready for the next phase, which is your strength and conditioning, then the S&C comes and plays a part."
"Slowly they go to the skill part, and then we build up the load, and then we play two RTP matches before we declare the player fit."
"Through the data we have, we know the benchmark of each and every player from the skill, from the fitness point of view. So until and unless that benchmark is not met, or in fact got better, we don't release. That's a benchmark we use to declare a player fit."
India Cricket Team