That is exactly the problem with Irfan Pathan. He was a very good bowler, till he started hitting the gym instead of bowling. Today he is muscular, but can't bowl. All of these guys want 6 packs , what they lose is swing.
Physical conditioning is an important element in the overall well being of a cricketer. However, with prof trainers and body conditioning experts in the foray, the plot has been lost and we hear more of injuries playing kho kho (Yuvaraj in 07) and doing squats. After playing 18 years of cricket myself, i can relate to this mode of running too much and jumping too much to build endurance when we miss the basic thing - each race is born with a physical endurance and boddy mass that is different and there cannot be a common program for 15 guys in a team. Simply, a Westindian has a better build genetically over someone from the eastern part of india and end of the day what matters is what and how well they do on the field and how long. Yeah - keep the warm up and drills up, condition diets - food and drinks - yoga etc but aspiring to ape an athlete or body builder needs to be curtailed. End of the day, can you emulate what the game needs through these activities ? Maybe the mental aspects but no way the physical ones and there lies your reason for these breakdowns. Ashish nehra toured more than he has played in the past. How many englishmen do we count now ?
There is reason to cut the frills and get to doing things intelligently - work out as much as you need with focus on a one to one body structure and not create picture perfect cricketers who pose more in bandages than getting their bottoms on the field.
science is primitive at best.... real fitness if at all can add to carryover to sports/field should involve wrestling/martial art training techniques graded in a manner to suit any sports needs. Co-ordination is key not half-assed jump squats. Plus the absence of a off season hurts a lot especially fast bowlers. I remember Chaminda Vaas taking help of sprinters and training with them , now that is thoughtful and effective way to train which directly reflects on the field.Botham is right.
