Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna ‘must listen to their body’ on comeback: Laxmipathy Balaji | Cricket News – Times of India
While the T20Is might take a back seat due to the upcoming Men’s ODI World Cup scheduled from October 5 to November 19, the return of these two players holds significant implications for India’s pace-bowling attack in a World Cup year.
Bumrah and Krishna, both of whom underwent back surgeries, have staged remarkable recoveries under the supervision of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Having undergone rigorous rehabilitation, they have regained fitness through practice matches, and the duo is now poised to re-enter the international cricket scene.
Lakshmipathy Balaji, the former India fast bowler who himself battled a stress fracture in the back in 2007, shared his experience on injuries and recovery.
Speaking to IANS, Balaji said, “When it comes to the match rhythm, something which is very important for a fast bowler, it gets better when you start playing. So you have to keep playing and it doesn’t matter how many overs you bowl in nets, unless and until you get into the match, and play in it, the experience you get from it is very important.
“Match experience is what makes you comfortable at the international level and as you play more and more, your body gets accustomed to the load and one gets to acclimatise to conditions. Also, the body gets to understand what are its demands at the moment,” said Balaji.
According to Ramji Srinivasan, the former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian squad that won the 2011 ODI World Cup, fast bowling is all about rhythm, which includes using certain breathing techniques.
Elaborating on this, he added, “Every time you hit your stride, you inhale or exhale accordingly. Breathing is directly proportional to the rhythm. So there are no doubting breathing modalities in fast bowling, which have to be imbibed in training and recovery protocol, especially ‘pranayam’ can really calm them down.
“Various techniques of breathing are there—some may or may not like yoga, get into zen breathing, meditation or diaphragmatic breathing, which depends on individuals. It’s very important to keep your heart rate down in breathing techniques and prevent any sort of anxiety. Fast bowling is proportional to bowling and rhythm.”
When Bumrah, who will captain India in the series, and Prasidh step onto the field for the first T20I on Friday, a wait of 326 and 363 days, respectively, will come to an end. The pressure will be immense on the pair to hit their top level with the ball.
Balaji continued: “With the full fitness already being reached, I am sure that the build-up to the bowling workload at the NCA after surgery would have already given them a lot of confidence and body conditioning. So it is about match rhythm now and you need to be 100% sure about how you go about match day, post-match recovery and following day how your training is.
“So, all of these things will be understood and known when you are playing the matches. Normally, it takes two-three weeks of match experience and along with that, good recovery management will be helpful to them in going back to the load again and again, as well as meeting the demands of the game.”
Last year, Bumrah hurt his lower back and couldn’t play in the T20 Asia Cup cricket tournament. He managed to play two games against Australia after that, but then he had to stop again when he felt pain in his back just before a series against South Africa.
As a result, he missed the T20 World Cup in Australia. The then-chief selector of the national team, Chetan Sharma, later said that they had made a mistake by rushing the Mumbai Indians bowler back into action.
Bumrah’s chances of making a comeback seemed palpable when he was added to the team for matches against Sri Lanka in January, but he had to be taken out just two days before the first game in Assam.
A 14-second video from the BCCI, shown on Wednesday, showcased footage of Bumrah practicing well at the nets, hitting bouncer and yorker with ease . Before coming to Ireland, Prasidh also showed his skills by taking a wicket for his team Mysuru Warriors on August 13 in a a Maharaja CUP T20 match.
Srinivasan hopes that both fast bowlers will learn and get better as they make their way back to playing international cricket.
He commented, “Progressing to adapt to a new match-playing situation as well as stress and strain under different conditions are very, very critical. To get adapted, you need to get into progression mode, which is one step at a time. Suddenly, when one tries to fire on all cylinders, it can be counterproductive.
“(With) Injuries which are serious, like stress fractures that need an operation, the body mechanics may have changed—like the way they are working out, bowling or the way the body muscles react to a stimulus. So both of them need to be mindful of that in progression.
“Like, try not to go flat out from day one and they need to understand their body better. In professional cricket, match situations are different and I am sure both are prepared for that. Word of caution is progression and then adaption is very, very important.”
Balaji, who was part of the Indian cricket team for 8 Test matches, 30 one-day internationals, and 5 Twenty20 internationals, thinks that Bumrah and Prasidh will face a mental test. He advises them to pay attention to their body during matches, just as he did when he played.
He further said, “Both of them have played a lot of cricket and aren’t young anymore in international cricket. So, they know how their body reacts. I had my own routines when I had the surgery and then came back to cricket. I really invested and listened to the body more closely than before, according to the demands.
“Personally, after undergoing surgery, it’s very important to listen to your body and its demands on a particular day. Plus, one has to ramp up their fitness levels to meet the demand of international cricket. Psychologically, you will have a lot of doubts, like when you are resuming your bowling action and how the body will react. So they will have to progress very, very cautiously over a period of time.”
To help Bumrah and Prasidh stay energetic and in good shape, Srinivasan highlighted how important it is for them to follow recovery plans, including getting enough sleep and eating healthy.
He opined: “Recovery is as important as training. Lack of recovery can cause serious repercussions – like it starts from a niggle and can become a serious injury. Whether it’s active or passive recovery, it’s important. One of the most underrated things is sleep pattern—most of them may or may not be aware of it and how important it’s for recovery.
“Also, what state of sleep they are in — whether it’s deep or REM (rapid eye movement) stage sleep, those things have to be monitored. Recovery also has the nutrition protocol; it’s not just about ice, contrast bath or sleep pattern. What type of food you eat or what food has to be eaten to recover faster for building muscle or losing fat, those protocols come into play.
“Apart from this, recovery protocols in exercise patterns have to be spot-on. At what intensity you exercise on your recovery day, it forms a part of the entire gamut of protocols. It’s not just contrast bath or massage, it spreads deeper.”
If Bumrah and Prasidh complete their four overs without any problems in the three T20 matches against Ireland, it will give a big boost to the Indian team. Right now, the team is still trying to figure out the best 15 players for the ODI World Cup that will be held in India.
Bumrah is really important for the team. He bowls really fast and uses different tricks to confuse the batsmen. He’s the leader of the group of fast bowlers and makes a big impact on the game.
Prasidh, on the other hand, aims at specific spots and uses his high speed to trouble batsmen. He’s a great choice to bowl in the middle of the game for India in ODIs.
“Both of them are very important in the fast-bowling leadership group. When it comes to Jasprit Bumrah, who has done very well and what impact he can create, he adds up to the team’s strength. When you have an experienced player like him, you ought to look at his bowling workload,” said Balaji.
“At the same time, Prasidh is tall and looks to do high-arm action and gets good bounce off the wicket. So he will go through a phase of his fitness being monitored. As far as I am concerned, post-surgery is a phase where you have done everything right and whatever the fill-in-the-blanks questions were asked, you have filled all of them. Now it’s time for them to react on the field and that’s the maximum you can do.
“When it comes to injury, surgery is something which is the last step and after that you are pushing forward to get back to your bowling, which is very much important as a fast bowler,” Balaji added.
“So 90% of the job is done, it’s only the 10% or maybe 15%, where they need to listen to the body and add value to their performances, which will hugely impact the team. Indian fast-bowling contingent will be benefitting with the addition of these two, as they (can) add a lot of strength to the World Cup squad,” explained Balaji.
On the other hand, Srinivasan wants the fast-bowling pair to be very considerate of their bodies and bowling effort as the ODI World Cup approaches.
(AI image)
He stated, “Fast bowling is one of the most difficult aspects in cricket, so one has to be supremely fit to be an effective fast bowler over a period of time. Having seen a spate of injuries, especially in the last five-six years, everybody has to be mindful of embarking on a fitness regime and what is the design bespoke for them.
“Jasprit Bumrah is different from Prasidh Krishna or vice-versa, which is a no-brainer. Each one has to do their own tailormade protocols and I am sure they are given one to follow. Take one step at a time and progress over a period of time. Target should be World Cup for both of them, and for that they need to look at long, short and mid-term goals and plan bowling workload accordingly.”
After playing in Ireland, India have up to six ODI matches in the Asia Cup and three games against Australia.
(With IANS inputs)
