'Injuries need constant monitoring'

Fast bowlers are expected to live with injuries through their careers, but the way the Indians have been getting injured time and again, is surely a worrying factor. It is heartening to see a number of pace bowlers burst on to the scene and also contribute in winning matches, but making a comeback after an injury has not been easy for them, with Laxmipathy Balaji and Ashish Nehra the ones to have been lost to the national team despite their talent.In fact, injuries have been a constant companion of almost all the leading pace-men of the country in the last five years - Irfan Pathan got injured in 2003, Balaji suffered an injury in early 2004, Sreesanth in 2005, Munaf Patel in 2006 and RP Singh in 2007.Sreesanth is again down with an injury while it seems easier to remember when Munaf Patel rather than the matches he missed. Now India's pace bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan has joined the list and has been ruled out of the remainder of the crucial Australian cricket tour with an ankle injury.Khan, who led the attack in a 337-run loss to Australia in Melbourne last week, failed a fitness test just before the second Test in Sydney.Even though the recurrence of injuries can't be ruled out completely as the recovery period from match to match has become too short, but as the MRF Pace Foundation's chief coach, T A Shekhar pointed out, it is important to have the technique essential for the survival of a fast bowler."Injuries can't be avoided but can definitely be minimized by constantly monitoring of the technique of a fast bowler. Causes of most injuries are faulty techniques and a bowling coach has a major role to play in studying the technique and making required amendments from time to time," insisted Shekhar.Adding that it is also as important to provide a proper rehabilitation programme after an injury, so that a player can recover quickly, Shekhar said, "The BCCI should set up a good backend by giving a good rehabilitation programme in order to let a player prepare himself technically and mentally." But former India paceman, Javagal Srinath, insists that at the first place the constant break downs should not happen and he blames it on the Indian team's physio John Gloster, who had said that the absence of a proper rehabilitation programme for injured players is a major factor in this country."Why the Indian pacers breaking down so often is something the physio can answer better. I can understand his disappointment but he should be setting high standards at his front first. I think he should not wait for injury before start to take care of the players," Srinath reacted.But if sports fitness trainer, Ramji Srinivasan is to be believed, a pacer who understands his own body the best is the one who is most successful in the field because every time a fast bowler lands while delivering the ball, a force measuring 8 to 10 times his body weight passes through joints below his waist that results in additional workload that a paceman's body takes, hence, he is the best judge on how to handle things at the end of the day."There are various formats and protocols available but it is important that a player derive the best possible combination according to his own body mechanism," said Ramji.Ramji further said that the Australian and the English specialized regimes can be incorporated with the Indian set up but it has to carefully put into practice, keeping in mind Indian players' body mechanisms.But all said and done, when Srinath was asked about how he sees the bowlers who hide their injuries in order to maintain their place in the team, he said, "You can't play for long by hiding your injury and if you have a greater view of your career, then injuries shouldn't be aggravated. So, it has to do with the right attitude.""A pacer can be successful only if he knows his regime and works within his limitations," the Karnataka fast bowler concluded.