As the Indian team boarded the flight for West Indies to begin their hunt for the ICC World Twenty20 Cup, the main concern was the fatigue level of the players.
As the Indian team boarded the flight for West Indies to begin their hunt for the ICC World Twenty20 Cup, the main concern was the fatigue level of the players. Even though skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten put up a brave front, saying that the hectic schedule would not affect their team's chances, there is no doubt that India's success in the tournament will depend on how quickly they recover from the gruelling Indian Premier League which involved 45 days of non-stop cricket. The IPL ended on May 25 and in less than 48 hours, a bunch of Indian players were back inside the belly of an aircraft.
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| Indian playersu00a0leave for the airport to board a flight to the West Indies for the World T20. PICS/ ATUL KAMBLE |
India went into the last Twenty20 World Cup suffering from a similar post-IPL fatigue, and the consequences were far from pleasant. Plagued by injuries, they made an early exit.
Renowned sports psychologist Dr B P Bam, who has worked with India's top cricketers and is currently the mental conditioning coach of the Indian shooting team, said the key to recovery from IPL-fatigue would be in effectively managing to unwind.
"Of course the players have drained themselves out in the IPL, since the stakes are very high here, but going by the present trend, every year the IPL will be held before the world championship. So, being professionals, the players have to learn to cope with it," said Bam.
More than the on-field exertions, it is the constant travel that takes the real toll on the players in the IPL. To make matters worse for Dhoni's boys, the journey to St Lucia will involve 24 hours of flying, from Mumbai to Dubai to London to St Lucia. India reach St Lucia on April 28 and are slated to play back-to-back matches on May 1 (vs Afghanistan) and May 2 (vs South Africa).
"The long flights can be very boring and when you are bored, your energy drains out faster. Boredom is the enemy of champions," explains Bam, and prescribes that "the players use the time in the flight to relax".
But how is an Indian cricketer to relax effectively on a flight? Bam has the answer: "Instead of working themselves up about a loss or a dropped catch, the players ought to think about what clicked for them. They should focus on one part of the body and concentrate on relaxing it, beginning with the toe, and gradually moving upwards to the head."
"The idea is to shift the focus from the future or the past," says Bam, "and this can be done by focussing on breathing or on doing something."
Although it hardly needed a doctor to say this, Bam emphasises that preservation of energy is going to be crucial. "Rather than squandering their energy reserves by partying and spending sleepless nights, the players should understand that a good rest can pay higher dividends."
