Anil Kumble also suggested that a better way for the players to return to cricket would be to train in a “bio-secure zone” and play practice matches.
Anil Kumble. (File Photo: IANS)
Former Indian captain and coach, Anil Kumble, believed that the team management should pay close attention to the bowlers and maintain their workload properly once they resume training after a gap of over three months due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had suggested the same to avoid injuries for the bowlers when they released their guidelines for players returning to training grounds at all levels.
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“That’s why I believe that at training, they’ll have to start slowly. Because it’s not just about coming back and playing in a match,” Kumble said during a webinar, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday as quoted by ESPN.
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“It’s also about coming back from two-and-a-half months of lockdown. Especially if you are a bowler, you need to have those bowling overs under your belt before you start competing. So it’s important that you slowly and gradually come back into the sort of normalcy that you can.”
Kumble, the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, also suggested that a better way for the players to return to cricket would be to train in a “bio-secure zone” and play practice matches with teammates before playing a Test match.
“I know England have announced a potential Test series against West Indies, subject to the government allowing them, but there again the players will have to have some sort of a cushion [or] a back-up in terms of loading up their body to be able to sustain a Test match because bowling 30 overs for a fast bowler… 30-40 overs for a spinner is not going to be easy,” India’s highest and world’s third-highest Test wicket-taker said.
“And even for a batsman, the muscles which you use when you’re batting are totally different. In a match situation, you’re doing everything in a split of a second and you’re not training for those, especially in a home condition. So, you need to build it up and probably have a few friendly games before you get into an important Test match.”
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