Indian team’s fitness coach, Shankar Basu admires Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni for maintenance of their fitness standards
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The Indian Cricket Team has come a long way in terms of their physical fitness. The current bunch of players in the team have a ‘no compromise policy’ on the same. India skipper Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batsman, MS Dhoni are the consummate examples on this front, who act as an inspiration and role models for the upcoming pool of cricketers.
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Acting as an able helping hand to keep up the healthy standards within the team, is India’s fitness and mental conditioning coach, Shankar Basu. Basu is currently with the Indian Cricket Team in England and Wales, leaving no stones unturned to assist the players with their mental and physical fitness concerns in their ongoing World Cup campaign.
Virat perfect student; Dhoni one of the strongest
Basu, who has worked closely with the cricketers for quite some time now, opined that the team’s current skipper- Virat Kohli is any ‘teacher’s delight’, who is never shy of repeating the boring fitness exercises day in and out.
Terming his as a sincere student, the 50-year-old further opined that Kohli has a very good idea about his body, and akin perfect disciple asks ‘n’ number of questions to make sure he is on the right track.
“He knows his body and if he is training, he will have 100 questions with regards to routines. Once he gets the answers, he follows them with all sincerity”, opined Basu.
MS Dhoni, on the other hand, is one of the strongest players in the team in terms of raw strength. Basu, in fact took three names who stand out on that front.
“If we talk about brute power, I will take three names who are possibly the strongest because of their background from hilly regions. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rishabh Pant and Pawan Negi. When we talk about raw power, these three top the list. Rishabh has unbelievable power”, exclaimed Basu.
“Shami perhaps my biggest achievement”- Basu
Mohammad Shami, who has constantly been in and out of the team, did not been even a single Test, due to injury concerns in the past season. And as fair share of the same, goes to S.Basu. Basu in fact, termed Shami as his greatest achievement.
“I had told Shami that there is no point of training hard for 20 days. You have to train consistently. Now training is his lifestyle. Look at how his pace never drops even in the final test of a five-game series”, said Basu.
He also stated that Shami has cut down completely on junk food, and was a meat eater from the beginning.
Basu further stated that Shami has completely changed his lifestyle. “He is a meat eater but now he has cut down on his junk food. He is probably the first example in this Indian team who has started the concept of intermittent fasting,” quipped the 50-year-old.
“He doesn’t eat a lot during the first half of the day but eats well during the second half of the day. He has reduced his fat percentage,” he further added.
Shankar Basu has been with the Indian Cricket Team since the year 2015.
