A departure from the past

THE PAST was often stereotyped. The Indian team will have a camp. The soundbytes on `hoping to do well abroad' will be issued. Then ground realities in the form of a bouncy pitch will strike. And the players returned home with defeat stalking them.

Pre-match exercises recapped movies of the silent era as our players kept mum in their patented nets. In the adjacent nets, teams like Australia and South Africa did hone their cricketing skills besides playing rugby, football and sneaking in the last laugh.

The present differs. And a few clues on a changed mindset was evident in the six-day conditioning camp held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore from May 13 to 18. ``We are going to Zimbabwe with a positive frame of mind,'' Sourav Ganguly said during the course of the camp. The benchmarks were fitness and fielding but gone was the air of barracks demeanour which previous camps had.

Laughter was in and even coach John Wright and physio Andrew Leipus, despite their `stretch-every-sinew' jargon, often had naughty grins. ``Look at that,'' said Rodney Marsh, Aussie legend and National Cricket Academy (NCA) consultant, ``they (probables) are enjoying it. Wright has worked a silent revolution. And I am learning new things from him.''

Cricket is no longer about just batting and bowling with the top brass chilling out at slips. And as former India mediumpacer and National Cricket Academy head coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu said, ``the difference between winning and losing is thin and that is caused by fitness and fielding.''

The Indian team has often been blown away in the winds of athleticism which sweep across International cricket. Luckily the wake-up call has been heeded and the players are keen to dust away their physical cobwebs. Tough taskmasters - John Wright and Andrew Leipus - have helped the team immensely. On the eve of the camp, Leipus said, ``you got to be mean to be good. It's going to be hard work for the boys.''

He was dead serious and perhaps `hard work' was an understatement. But the players never complained and thrived on a blend of adrenaline, laughter and sweat. Hemang Badani, a gifted player waiting to take wings now feels turbocharged.

``This camp was physically vigorous. We all know that top teams like Australia and South Africa are extremely fit, we are trying to get there,'' he said while V.V.S. Laxman added, ``Ours is a hardworking team and we are working on our fitness.''

The traditional nets did figure high but the difference lay in the fielding drills. The coach and the physio devised games that broke the tedium which often ruins conditioning camps. Sprints, pick up and throws lent the cutting edge and the players relished their exercises.

``Bishen Singh Bedi did extract a similiar work ethic from the boys but there was a touch of monotony but here the boys never get bored,'' said a cricket analyst. ``Wright has planned the sessions meticulously,'' said NCA director Brijesh Patel while keeping the camp's support systems in order.

Team spirit that bonds players together was evident at the camp. ``Cricket is all about friendships,'' Rodney Marsh said while a sense of science guided the probables' training with laughter etching in sunshine amidst sweat.

Indian team selection does leave a trail of smiles and sour grapes. And it was a breath of fresh air to see Test discards Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi, Vijay Bharadwaj and Dodda Ganesh train hard with the probables.

It was indeed a camp where diverse individuals dabbed United India colours. The talk on the contract system with graded payments hinted that the players were keen on a professional setup.

Wright was a pleased man. ``The camp was good and the players have improved their fitness levels. Zimbabwe is a great opportunity for our players to improve their overseas record,'' he said. Optimism rides high but reality peeps in when Leipus says, ``the team has to work on its aerobics endurance.'' History often does a roulette with the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. In 1987, Sunil Gavaskar's 96 failed to stem Imran's Pakistan from wresting a series victory. Soon India revived its home dominance until Nicky Boje helped South Africa win a series at the same venue last year.

Now hope rubs shoulders with this venue which is draped in nostalgia. The National Cricket Academy is housed inside the Stadium and it aims to be a conveyor belt for National honours. And it helped that Messrs M.A.K. Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly spoke to the trainees last week.

Perhaps the camp at this venue might help the players savour champagne bubbles abroad. A victory at Dhaka did occur recently but the last vestiges of an Indian victory abroad still remains with Kapils Devils who humbled England in the Old Blighty during 1986. Sourav Ganguly's team is all set to fuse potential with performance. And slamming the door on Steve Waugh's men in the recent series does help.

K.C. VIJAYA KUMAR

Bangalore

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