Fitter and stronger: how India women are working towards getting better

Remember Ellyse Perry's acrobatic save on the boundary to deny India in the T20 World Cup semi-final in February?

Here's a recap: she sprinted along the rope from deep square leg, covered at least 20 metres, threw herself towards the ball at full stretch and pushed it back while airborne. It saved Australia two crucial runs in the penultimate over in a game they won by five runs.

Four months have passed since that heartbreaking day for India in Cape Town. The women's team is preparing for a new bumper season that begins with a limited-overs tour to Bangladesh in July, followed by home white-ball series against South Africa and New Zealand in September and October. Then England and Australia also visit for a full tour that includes Tests on either side of the new year.

Given the volume of cricket coming India's way, it's fair to say that moment of athletic brilliance from Perry has had significant impact on their approach towards fitness and fielding.

In May, the senior women's selection panel picked 30 "targeted players" for an intense camp in Bengaluru. The notable highlights were the implementation of the Athlete Monitoring System (AMS) and Injury Prevention (IP).

These systems aren't new. Teams across sporting landscapes have used them in high-performance environments. That it's being embraced in women's cricket in India, starting with the Women's Premier League (WPL), is noteworthy. With two world events - the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and the 2025 ODI World Cup in India - in the next 24 months, the BCCI hopes the steps they have taken will help the team finally win that trophy.

So, what is AMS?

It's a software that monitors fatigue, sleep, mood, menstrual cycle and non-sport stressors to mitigate injury risks and maximise performance. It helps monitor data, workloads, past injuries, rehab cycles, performance post-injuries.

Why is it significant for women's cricket now?

It has helped the National Cricket Academy tailor roadmaps for each player to ensure their fitness levels continue to remain optimum. For starters, the yo-yo test has been replaced by the one-mile test, a DEXA scan to measure body-fat percentage, vertical jumps, broad jumps, 10- to 20-metre dash, and several endurance routines.

"Because it was the off season, we went heavy," explains Vidarbha's Disha Kasat, one of the top domestic T20 run-getters in the past two seasons who was part of the camp. "With the lifts in gym, with our runs. Even fielding, we were taking 50 catches in every session. Everyone's parameters improved from day one to the end of the camp."

Jhulan Goswami, the former India captain, believes this new outlook can be pathbreaking. She had a ringside view of these processes as a bowling coach with Mumbai Indians in the WPL. This, she thinks, can help narrow the gap with Australia, the undisputed leaders in the women's game.

"There's no comparison [with Australia] on the fitness front," Goswami says. "They've set the benchmark in women's cricket and it's a start for us in India to try and aspire to match those standards. Today, players realise skills alone aren't enough.

"It can only take you to a certain level. But to have long-lasting careers and take your game beyond, fitness is very important. You need that ruthlessness, the aggressive mindset. And for that your fitness plays a key role. Hopefully the preparation for next year's T20 World Cup has started with this."

A significant step in this fitness revolution is the formation of a core group of strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches for the women's set-up. Anand Date coming on board full-time has been a game-changer. Date has over a decade's experience in S&C, having worked under Rahul Dravid at the NCA and with various men's India A and age-group squads.

Date's responsibilities now include working with several franchise S&Cs and other coaches that women's players work with to help maintain continuity in monitoring fitness.

"Earlier, we didn't have a full-time S&C coach. They were all appointed on a series-by-series basis. Now, having Anand Date on board full-time has helped push fitness pedals," says former India batter VR Vanitha. "He used to build on the fitness parameters of players once they came back to the NCA or national camps after a break.

"AMS has ensured players aren't under-training or over-training. Each player's workload is mapped and it ensures there's accountability from their part, even when they aren't at the NCA. Now even the state teams are embracing this system. The data helps bring everything under one roof."

Workload management is just one aspect. There's injury prevention too, a system that determines through a series of tests - on shoulders, hip flexors, and hamstring for example - certain markers that are then assessed to tune workloads.

"This system determines the extent of injuries, what the fitness levels of a player is at any given time," Vanitha explains. "It monitors a player's physical state even before they break down. Essentially, it's an alarm to those monitoring. It helps tapering workloads if there are markers that suggest potential injury."

While fitness was the focus of the camp, the players did skill-work too. They were divided into groups, handed specific tasks and put through a series of match simulations. They were assisted by experienced net bowlers and side-arm specialists.

"Hrishikesh Kanitkar sir [interim head coach of India Women] made me work on my batting, find my own way to do it," Kasat explains. "He was very flexible. He told me 'these are your options, see what works for you and find your way out with this as your end goal,' rather than saying 'this is the only way you should go about it'. Practice sessions were intense."

Goswami believes the WPL will have a wide impact on the women's game in India. "This year, we didn't have time to prepare for WPL. Teams just went with the flow, picked players on raw numbers," she says. "Next year, teams will have an opportunity to prepare, conduct camps, scout players, shortlist performers. That will automatically lift the domestic tournaments because players know there's an added incentive to get noticed.

"Previously, the gap between domestic and international cricket was massive. Players found it too steep and took time to bridge this gap. This won't be the case going forward, because there's a massive platform now."

This is where preparatory tournaments play a massive role. Currently, a high-performance squad, comprising several age-group players that featured in India's victorious Under-19 Women's World Cup campaign and WPL performers, is in Hong Kong to play in the Emerging Nations' Asia Cup. Most of the games have been washed out, but the tournament held significant potential because the previous women's A tour was before the pandemic.

"Tournaments like the Emerging Nations Cup is good, but India's level is way above, say, the A team of Sri Lanka, Pakistan or any of the other teams," Vanitha says. "What we need is exposure to the A sides of England, Australia. Also, we need to expand our base. While the focus should be on the Under-19s, we shouldn't lose sight of those who are in the 20 to 23 age group."

Goswami has noticed players having that motivation to be a part of the franchise system, now that they've seen what the WPL offers, both in terms of opportunities and money. Vanitha has also seen players go out of their comfort zone.

"I've seen some people joining better training centres, more people taking their nutrition seriously, which is vital for athlete progress," Vanitha says. "Cricketers are going and accessing top coaches in India. This itself speaks there's internal motivation from the girls to invest in themselves."

Kasat is an example of someone who has gone the extra mile. The Vidarbha captain, who hails from Nagpur, lives in Bengaluru during the off-season to train under a private coach. Kasat, who played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the WPL, also has access to training facilities set up by Rajasthan Royals in Talegaon.

"In Nagpur, everything comes too easy," she says. "In Bangalore, there's a price you put on everything. Time spent in traffic to go from A to B can be exhausting. There's a sense of purpose. If I have to go to my training venue, which is at least an hour from my gym, I have to ensure I'm spending my time productively when I'm at the nets. You want to get something out of every session. I've lived and trained in Bangalore for two years now. It's not easy, but it's made me a better cricketer."

Kasat had the opportunity to train with Perry at RCB and observe her work ethic. Her takeaway from that experience is simple: "If she can, I can too."