Tendulkar, Jaffer miss first day of fitness camp

Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer missed out on the opening day of the fitness-specific camp for the batsmen which kicked off in Bangalore at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) today. Tendulkar, who has been allowed to miss the start of the camp ''for personal reasons", is scheduled to join on June 10 while Jaffer, who is already in Bangalore, has been diagnosed with flu and is unlikely to attend the camp.

The nine batsmen who were present and Sreesanth, the lone bowler, underwent an indoor training programme on the first day, one that began with a yoga session in the team hotel. The players then moved into the indoor training facility at the NCA where they underwent drills to enhance core stability, associated with the torso and spine regions, and shoulder stability. There were multi-stage fitness tests too (also called bleep tests) and skinfold measurements, an indicator of the fat composition in the body.

Physical trainer Gregory King is overseeing the camp, one of the three to be conducted ahead of India's tour of Ireland and England. Sreesanth was expected to attend the first two days of the camp - since his selection for the Afro-Asia Cup Twenty20 match meant he missed out on the bowlers' camp in Mysore. His fast-bowling partner VRV Singh, who had a viral attack last evening, was admitted to a local hospital but is expected to be discharged tomorrow.

Four Indian batsmen - Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh - who're currently involved in in the ongoing Afro-Asian Cup, are expected to join the camp after the three-match series concludes tomorrow. The batsmen present at the camp on the first day were Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman,Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Mongia, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Kaif and S Badrinath.

This camp follows one that was held specifically for the bowlers, in Mysore from June 4 to 8. It will be followed by a conditioning camp from June 13 to 16 at the NCA, and will be attended by players selected to represent India in the tours of Ireland and England. These teams will be selected, in Delhi on June 12.