Mayank Yadav’s return to fitness showcases NCA’s evolution from a rehab option to a total fitness monitoring system

For a bowler who isn’t used to bowling long spells, based on his injury record and fitness, the workload was increased gradually with NCA trainers identifying the areas he had to build on. And after missing out on action for the last three months, Mayank is now in India’s squad for the upcoming T20Is against Bangladesh. The NCA ensured that the shock of bowling in Tests won’t precipitate a breakdown on the field.

Collaborating with state units and Ranji Trophy support staff, and having a robust athlete monitoring system is what BCCI’s head of cricket VVS Laxman believes has helped the National Cricket Academy to overcome the misconception that it only acts as a rehabilitation centre. Rather than merely reacting to injuries, the premier centre is now a repository of detailed fitness data that also aids in strengthening and injury prevention of every top cricketer.

In recent years, the Bengaluru based-NCA has come under fire after players picked up injuries soon after rehab programmes. But over the past 12 months, the NCA has played a huge role in how it successfully handled the recovery process of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Laxman said a monitoring system is in place that even tracks the targeted developmental players which should help take Indian cricket to the next level, and Yadav was the most recent beneficiary of the targeted programme.

Laxman elaborated how the injury management plan works. “We will be fooling ourselves if we think that no one will get injured, because obviously, you’re putting the body on line. The idea is how to prevent injuries. And that’s why recovery, and maintaining the fitness standard is something which is very, very critical,” he said. “What we have done over the last two years is to standardise fitness levels right from top to bottom. It’s not only the Indian cricket team, but even state teams. We have given various protocols to maintain fitness levels. Everyone’s skill-set level can be different, but fitness standards can be maintained,” Laxman said.

Laxman who has been at the helm for over two years now at the NCA said that thanks to the zonal camps, which bring Ranji coaches and support staff to the NCA, the lack of trust factor has been overcome and has enabled them to put a system in place. It has seen NCA rank the best coaches, S&Cs and physios to get a better understanding and put the right personnel to monitor the players. And thanks to the constant monitoring, an athlete management system (AMS) has been put in place.

“When Rahul (Dravid) was the head coach, he was monitoring the contracted players. We were looking after the emerging players and the Under-19 players throughout the year. Once the camp is over and they get back to the state team, we keep monitoring them. Every coach is monitoring at least 10 players. So he knows what are the areas players have to work on and through the year, we make sure that the player is working on it. There is a profile of everyone who comes to the NCA. Right from their reports of the skills to the fitness to the musculoskeletal screening report, we have got mental conditioning coaches who come and work with them. And we have even requested the state units to follow the same,” Laxman added.

Through the AMS, Laxman said the idea is to make everything player-centric. With various coaches involved, there is always scope for too many cooks to spoil the soup. Players often tend to get caught up in a clash of ideas. “So, I think the biggest part here is the player. Everything is player-centric and we want the player to benefit. We don’t want the player to get confused. We don’t want the player to suddenly feel the burden of whose advice he has to listen to. So, I think everything is inclusive. We take into confidence the state association coaches. Because ultimately the state association coaches spend a lot more time with that player than what we do because we just get one month with them,” Laxman added.

Laxman who decided to continue in his role after being reluctant at one stage, revealed that all these programmes have ensured that the bench strength remains strong both in men’s and women’s cricket. “I can say with a lot of confidence, barring a couple of skill sets, I think, for the next 10 years, we’ve got a lot of players who will make our country proud. I’m not only talking about men’s, but also women’s (cricket) as well. We’re blessed to have that kind of talent. There is a supply chain as far as cricket is concerned. That means the amount of players we have at our disposal, it is a real blessing. The whole idea is to monitor them, how to groom them, so that they realise their potential,” he added.