Rugby to the rescue
Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan jetted off Brive la Gaillarde, but their visits to the French countryside were under the instruction of of Tim Exeter, as the former member of the Scotland Rugby squad looks to build the duo's "core fitness"
28-Jul-2013
Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh have had to make way to younger and more pertinently, fitter players in the Indian side and have jetted off to Brive la Gaillarde in France. However, their trips to the scenic beaches and the riveting countryside were under the instruction of Tim Exeter, a former member of the Scotland Rugby squad. His training methods are helping the Indian pair develop better "core fitness" writes Sandeep Dwivedi of the Indian Express
"By core, I don't just mean the abdomen. For me the core also includes glutes, hip and moving up right till the shoulder," he says. He goes on add that for a pacer like Zaheer, whose action needs explosive power and puts a lot of stress on his body, the "core" is of prime importance.
Drawing from his experience of working with baseball players, he also put the pacer's arm movement under the scanner to try and increase his speed. "After about four weeks of drills, Zak was bowling to me with a tennis ball. That's when Yuvi too came around. He was really surprised with the speed of the ball shooting out of Zaheer's hand," says Exeter.