How fit are Indian cricketers?

Brut India

"Very, very, very strong." Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant... this is what fitness coach Basu Shanker said about his wards.   BeerBiceps

Transcript

00:00To play the game of cricket, I think they are already built like an ox.

00:03He knows his body in and out.

00:05Strongly built guy.

00:06He can jump, he can flip, he can do anything.

00:18So is it fair to say someone like Kohli now,

00:21see his fitness is at the center of his career.

00:24He probably knows enough about fitness to become a coach himself.

00:26Absolutely.

00:27I am right in saying that.

00:28Absolutely.

00:30He knows his body in and out.

00:32I am asking you this from my own perspective because when I went vegetarian,

00:35I had to really adjust kind of my routine, my recovery period, all that.

00:39What happened when he went vegetarian?

00:40As his coach, did you have to like adjust a lot of things?

00:42Obviously, I mean,

00:44the human body does not know whether you are a vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

00:47It only identifies as macronutrients and micronutrients.

00:50We need to find the balance.

00:51So we had to make adjustments and like fish to water, he took to it.

00:55And whenever he needs to make any adjustments and all,

00:58we all have a conversation and he'll always have pertinent questions.

01:03Once he's convinced, there's no looking back.

01:10He amazed me.

01:11I mean, I saw him as Dhoni.

01:13I mean, I got into the team in 2015.

01:16Of course, I've seen him before too.

01:19He's a hill boy.

01:21I think he's a Pahadi, as they call him. Pahadi.

01:23Yeah. Strongly built guy.

01:25I mean, Arusha Pant is the same.

01:28Pawan Nigi is the same.

01:29I think this Anuj Rawat is the same.

01:32He's for IPL now.

01:33I think these guys who come from the hilly regions are naturally very, very, very strong.

01:38And to play the game of cricket, I think they are already built like an ox.

01:43And I think MS played a lot of sport in his younger days.

01:46I think soccer has been his favorite. Yeah.

01:49I've seen him play soccer.

01:50The way he kicks the ball, he can pack a punch.

01:52Pack the punch.

01:54I mean, when I got into the team, I was already towards the end of his

01:58probably in his home stretch.

02:00It was more of taking care of his body.

02:02If he plays a match or practice, recovery was more important.

02:05And he had his own ways to do things.

02:08And I never troubled him on that.

02:10Here and there, he'll ask me a few things and I will help him.

02:13What was his own way of doing things?

02:14For him, primarily, it was a skill practice.

02:17OK. So he used to bat a lot.

02:19And then he believed in a lot of recovery in between matches.

02:23To be very honest, I'll never take credit for anything he's done.

02:27He knew exactly what he was doing.

02:29And even the exercise regime, which he probably followed,

02:33was something which he has arrived over a period of time.

02:36Gotcha. And he was self-taught.

02:38It was a natural.

02:40I think he was gifted with supreme strength.

02:44And that carried him through.

02:46He's 40 plus and still playing.

02:48And I would say that he's really gifted.

02:51I remember telling him that, you know, you're an extraordinary gymnast.

02:57Please call your gymnastic coach and thank him for what you're doing now.

03:00He was like flummoxed.

03:02I said, what? He can do a kip-off.

03:04He can do a front flip. He can do a back flip.

03:07You must have seen it on television, sir.

03:08And he's got the explosive ability because of...

03:12I think he's done a lot of gymnastics in his formative years.

03:15I think gymnastics also has a lot of strength.

03:18He's done a lot of gymnastics in his formative years.

03:20I think gymnastics also play a major role in development as an athlete.

03:25And not all of them will get the opportunity to do that.

03:27But if you can do that at a very young age, nothing like it.

03:30And probably that has helped a lot for Rishabh Pant.

03:33Rishabh Pant, if you notice, is very acrobatic because of that.

03:35He can jump. He can flip. He can do anything.

03:38But in batting, do you think that helps?

03:40I'm not a connoisseur of batting, but I'm sure all these things help.

03:44I mean, I always believe in multi-directional approach to life itself.

03:47I think a multi-directional approach to sport is definitely the need of the hour.

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