National Cricket Academy gets a new work ethic

The square is being relaid; 10 new wickets are being nurtured; a Specialised Coaches Skills Clinic, featuring a couple of India’s legends, is underway; the national women’s team is here next week.

Clearly, Dav Whatmore, the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), is juggling between tasks. The core programme of the NCA — that involves selecting and training 30 from among the best talent at the Hemu Adhikari Trophy (the U-19 tournament organised by BCCI) — is still a few months away. Yet, things aren’t exactly dull at India’s apex cricket academy, located in the compounds of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Vikram Rajvir Singh, a non-contracted player, is undergoing a rehabilitation programme under the watchful eyes of head strength and conditioning coach, Paul Chapman. VRV, promising but waylaid by injuries, knew exactly where to go to plan his comeback.

He is fortunate. Till recently, BCCI-contracted cricketers weren’t always sure about where to go and whom to consult, especially during rehabilitation. Consider Suresh Raina, who had to run from pillar to post and was left exasperated at one time when he was trying to get advice on how to get back on his feet in the quickest possible time, following knee surgery.

“The struggle Balaji had to go through during rehabilitation should never happen to any player again,” Chapman said. Force plates, timing gates and GPS, technology that isn’t easily available in the sub-continent, are accessible to those undergoing rehabilitation or training. Data extracted helps address the specific training needs of Indian players.

Whatmore is not a subdued coach, and has brought with him an aggressive work ethic to the NCA. Since he took over at the end of last year, the academy has been functioning through the year, as opposed to five months previously.

Till 13 months ago, NCA didn’t have a head coach or specialist coaches. The present set-up is a refreshing change. Apart from Whatmore and Chapman, the NCA has six other full-time staff, including Tamil Nadu medium-pacer Bharat Arun, the head coach.

“This place has become the destination for 37 contracted players, and even non-contracted players can walk in anytime. We have been here for 13 months. Since then, a lot of major senior players have come to NCA and have received extremely good information and training in specific areas. It doesn’t mean that when a Tendulkar comes here we tell him how to bend his front leg,” Whatmore said.

The five-star treatment isn’t limited to the senior players. The junior players have little reason to complain. For instance, the U-19 team and India A teams have fitness trainers attached to them, an NCA initiative. Development of junior players, including the U-16s & U-19s, is top on the agenda, even as the India A team, the Emerging Players team — the pool of second line players — and the fast bowling unit have made the NCA their base.

When these budding cricketers are not at the academy, they don’t just fall off the radar, unlike in the pre-Whatmore era. They can consult NCA-trained specialised coaches, trainers and physiotherapists — at the zonal and state level - at their home bases.

Each state association must establish an academy by April, according to a BCCI resolution. The immediate need is to find the right people. It’s too early to hand out any awards yet but, so far, the right noises are being made in Bangalore at least.

‘We aren’t blindly following the Aussie-way’
Dav Whatmore has an affinity for the sub-continent. He was born in Sri Lanka but played his cricket in Australia and learnt his trade over four years at the Victoria Institute of Sports.

Successful stints with Sri Lanka, Lancashire and Bangladesh, and the World Cup winning India Under-19 team, gives him a world view. Now, as director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) he is clear what direction the institute must take.

“It is only natural that people look to compare us with the best institutes in Australia. As far as we are concerned we are acting in the best interest of what is needed in this place. We don’t worry too much about what other countries are doing.

Sure we have an interest in certain areas but we are providing a very high level training in a number of areas and all of them are India specific and cater to the needs of Indian players. That programme in Australia is a three or four month thing. Here we have a full-time centre here. We are not trying to catch up or blindly follow the ‘Aussie-way’,” Whatmore told DNA.

An India-specific coaching manual is also being documented at the NCA. “We have to give the specialised coaches we are training a coaching bible. The ones we have been using is a copy of an Australian edition done years and years ago.

In six months we will provide a Level I coaching manual for all the specialised coaches. It will be supplemented with CDs and will be in Hindi and English.”