Punjab Kings have been blessed with some phenomenal talent, both in the batting and bowling department. One of the overseas players who has really paid dividends for the franchise is Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa. However, owing to fitness issues, the batter was almost snubbed by PBKS, only for the then-head coach Anil Kumble to push for Sri Lanka. The franchise's batting consultant has revealed that Kumble was told against signing the Lankan batter, but the India legend ignored all warnings.
"When Anil Kumble saw him play, he said I've got to pick him," PBKS batting consultant Julian Wood told Cricbuzz, as per News 18. "He was told don't pick him, he's not fit enough. Fair play to Kumble because he said 'I don't care if he's fit, he can hit the ball for a six. I don't want him to run a 100m in 10 seconds, I want him to hit the ball for a six'."
Rajapaksa was one of the stars for Punjab last season, scoring 206 runs. Even in the IPL 2023 season, the Sri Lankan got Punjab off to a flier, scoring a half-century in the team's victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
Bhanuka had even announced retirement from international cricket at the start of 2022 before taking a u-turn. He eventually improved his fitness standards, giving up delicacies like chocolates and put work in place to improve his fitness standards.
Nigel Aaron, a fitness trainer, helped Rajapaksa get his fitness in line after he was given an ultimatum by Sri Lanka Cricket. Aaron revealed how hard he had to work with Rajapaksa to get him to pass certain fitness tests.
"He asked me if it was possible to do it (bring fitness up in 1 month)?," Aaron told Cricbuzz. "I said technically it is a strenuous workout because he had to bring the weight down by a certain amount in a month's time and at the same time retain fitness as well to complete the 2km test. It wasn't just about bringing the skinfold down but to have that strength to keep going."
"We didn't have the best facilities at his house so we had to do a bit of improvisation. He had battle ropes and kettlebells but then scientifically from my side I did a lot of metabolic training to get his metabolic rate high and get his fat percentage down. In the same way, we had to train for his 2kms. We did some crazy training, like pushing vehicles with resistance bands. He's a power hitter so you don't want to lose that as well," he added.