India's fitness trainer hands in his resignation

Virat Kohli with Shankar Basu (Image Courtesy: India.com)

The man at the helm of Virat Kohli's transition from a chubby player to a terrific athlete, Shankar Basu, Team India's strength and conditioning coach since 2015, has handed over his resignation to BCCI, according to reports from The New Indian Express.

The team management had asked him to reconsider his decision, which is believed to have been taken after the fifth Test against England at Chennai. However, it is learned that Basu has handed over his resignation to BCCI, who are still considering it.

The New Indian Express report stated that some sources said that a few players had issues with Basu's training methods and had asked for a different training programme. BCCI partially agreed to this claim though it did not explicitly state that the players had raised a complaint.

“No player complained about his methods. But a few did raise questions about the intensity and the programme, which is normal, because for each player the routine is different. The team’s fitness has increased by leaps and bounds, and it is a huge shock that Basu resigned. We are still sitting over the letter,” BCCI sources told the Indian Express.

Basu, apart from overseeing Kohli's brilliant transition, has also worked with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Tamil Nadu Ranji Team. He runs his own fitness centre in Tamil Nadu, named Primal Patterns Holistic Fitness Studio located in Chennai. He has also worked with prominent squash players, Joshna Chinnappa and Dipika Pallikal. 

The coach had joined the Indian team before their tour of Sri Lanka in 2015, taking over from Sudarshan, who is now with the National Cricket Academy (NCA). His appointment was followed by a good period for Team India in terms of fitness.

However, a string of injuries to a few players in the Test side – KL Rahul, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Wriddhiman Saha, seems to have played a role in Basu's decision to resign. A few of these players have come back to the side only to suffer a repetition of their injuries.

England will return for the ODI leg of the series which starts in mid-January and if Basu is relieved of his duties, India might be forced to go into the ODIs without a strength and conditioning coach.

If BCCI does accept the resignation, India will have to search for a new fitness trainer soon. They may not have to look far though, with Sudarshan, who had worked with the team for two years prior to Basu's appointment, available at the NCA. He might be given another go in the national setup before England return for the ODIs.