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Cricket and more

Former physiotherapist with the Indian cricket team Andrew Leipus now hopes to set up his own physiotherapy institute

PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE

WARMING UP Andrew Leipus with his favourite player, Anil Kumble

He was in charge of the men in blue until nearly a year ago. Now he is back in action, albeit in different role with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after a yearlong sabbatical Down Under to pursue his higher studies. Andrew Leipus, former physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team, is back in India to pursue his dream and vision of setting up a physiotherapy institute here.

Andrew was in Mangalore earlier in the week as a resource person for a two-day workshop on Taping Techniques In Sports Injuries organised by the Dr. M.V. Shetty College of Physiotherapy. Although a back-end support staff with the team, he was indeed much sought after during the two day workshop, with all and sundry curious to know the "andhar ki baat" about India's veritable demigods.

A typical Aussie, who speaks at a rate of knots, Andrew shared his views on not only the fitness of men in blue, but also about the agonising last-minute loss of the Socceroos at the World Cup. An interesting part of the interaction was his lucidity of views on questions posed, despite his obvious discomfort of being in the limelight.

Much fitter now

"Team India is a lot fitter now than what it was six years ago. Although one has to assess the fitness on an individual basis and based on various parameters, it certainly is heartening to note that players are lot more conscious about their fitness than ever before. They realise fitness is the key which finally keeps them in the team in general and playing eleven in particular."

Admitting that it has taken the Indian team a while to understand the importance of fitness, Andrew says: "They now look increasingly to backend support staff to help deal with problems. Besides, they also have the necessary backup in terms of resources to put them on the fast track to recovery. This awareness about fitness is yet to percolate to the grassroots level."

Do cricketers skip practice routines including those meant to build up endurance and fitness? "Individual circumstances play a vital role in such rare cases," he said. "It is left to support staff to decide if a player needs to follow a particular fitness regime or not. If someone is coming off an injury layoff, we would not want to risk aggravating an injury."

Ducking a question on his favourite cricketer, he said: "I have always maintained a professional relationship with them and they respect me for that. I sometimes have to make a tough professional call on a particular player's fitness and such sentiments do not help in making that judgment. I have been impartial and very clear in my judgments."

Kumble it is

But when asked which cricketer in the Indian cricket team he would pay to watch, pat came the reply: Anil Kumble. "Anil is one cricketer who puts his body on the line every time he steps out on to the park. He is a fighter on the field, but a gentle giant off it. He is one person who instinctively knows how to switch on and off the aggression, based on the situation."

Warming to the theme, he said the manner in which Anil came back from a potentially career ending shoulder injury was magnificent. "His career was nearly over when he suffered that shoulder injury. But, the recovery shows the grit and determination of the person to not only overcome it, but also go on to become the leading wicket taker for the country."

On a more personal note, Andrew admitted that the loss of Socceroos left him devastated. Taking a dig at Marcello Lippi's boys for faking injuries to win penalties, he said it must be frustrating for their support team to watch them from the sidelines. "One does not know for sure if it is a real injury or not and if the player in question needs treatment."

JAIDEEP SHENOY

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