Players respond well to innovative fitness drills

Virender Sehwag and Greg King, the trainer, expressed satisfaction at the end of the first camp in Bangalore, with both men reckoning that the team was in good shape as it geared up for its first assignment of the season in Sri Lanka in a fortnight's time.

Having spent three days at the Pegasus Institute last week, the players then spent Monday at an army paratroop centre, trying out different drills while wearing combat fatigues. "The boys enjoyed the shooting drills," said Sehwag. "We were able to understand what forces on the border do to stay alert, to save both themselves and their partner. There are similarities to cricket, and running between the wickets, where making the right call is so important."

He was also of the opinion that the days spent at the Pegasus Institute had provided the team with a different sort of challenge. "We were divided into groups, each with a different leader. And even the leader kept changing. With different people in charge, you were exposed to a new type of thinking. And since it was a new experience for everyone, anyone could lead, it didn't always have to be a Dravid or a Tendulkar. More than physical, we found it mentally very tough."

The team also tried out tai-chi and Sehwag said that it had been an eye-opener. "We only had one session. It was interesting because body balance is very necessary in cricket as well. But it would take at least six months to be able to do all the exercises."

King was also pleased with the overall experience. "I thought the camp was really worthwhile," he said. "We had a lot of fun, and also managed to get quite a bit of physical work done. The most important thing was to get the guys interacting together and see how they bounce ideas off each other."

King added that such camps might be a feature in the future as well. "We'll give the guys new experiences to avoid monotony. The players expressed their happiness with various drills, and weren't as happy with others. We'll reassess as we go along."

He wasn't too fussed about the lack of an off-season after the tour of the West Indies - "The guys are used to long seasons now" - and insisted that India's relatively better fortune with injuries was more a matter of luck than anything else. "Sometimes you just get lucky. Many of the injuries are acute injuries, the result of freak accidents. No matter what kind of conditioning you do, they can happen."

After all the new experiences of the past few days, it was back to more prosaic routines on Tuesday morning, before the players dispersed at lunchtime. Sachin Tendulkar had already departed by then, after a bereavement in the family.

Long after everyone else had left, Irfan Pathan remained in the nets, working on both his batting and bowling with Ian Frazer, the biomechanist. There were a few huge lofts that excited those that had climbed on trees to peer over the Chinnaswamy Stadium fence, and then he spent some time experimenting with different run-ups and bowling lengths while aiming at one stump. His recent form may be a cause for concern, but if everyone picked to play for India had the same kind of work ethic, they'd be champions every time.