Mohammad Kaif, a former cricket player for India, recently considered how the cricket player system has changed since his playing days. Kaif compared his personal experiences from the early 2000s with his observations of the professional changes in contemporary cricket, including player celebrations and training regimens.
According to Kaif, the quantity of cricket played today has altered the demand for support personnel. He disclosed that there were a lot less matches back when he was alive than there are now. According to Kaif, this explains why the number of physiotherapists, physicians, and personal trainers has grown along with their demand. Even now, players travel with personal chefs and personal trainers—luxuries that weren’t available in his time.
The number of matches has significantly increased in recent years. I recall my participation in the July NatWest Trophy final. Three months later, I participated in my next ODI in Sri Lanka for the ICC Champions Trophy. There were fewer games back then, and there were usually breaks. We were able to attend conditioning camps. Teams no longer do that; instead, players simply travel and enter games one after the other.
Players need to take care of their bodies, which is why physiotherapists and physicians are discussed so often. The game now heavily relies on fitness. These days, athletes even bring their own personal trainer and cook on trips. “Compared to our time, all of these things have increased,” he stated on “Cheeky Singles.”
Virender Sehwag was often advised to improve his physical condition: Kaif
The 44-year-old also noted how social media and technology have altered how athletes commemorate victories on the pitch. According to him, players of the current age are fully conscious of where the camera is positioned and when they are being filmed.
When I performed for India in the past, we didn’t organise any festivities or even realise that a camera was capturing a particular moment that would be played back over and over. We were direct. These days, however, athletes are aware of exactly when they will be filmed and how they will celebrate. There is now more awareness. Social media and mobile phones are the primary causes of this. Highlights are all over social media these days. New players aren’t holding back (when celebrating),” he continued. “That’s a major change.”
The former Indian batter also discussed how changing rooms now and back then differ culturally. Players used to travel together after practice, share rooms and form bonds as a team when he was playing. Even Sachin Tendulkar, he recalled, would wait until everyone had completed their practice before departing.
These days, athletes are more polished. As an IPL coach, I observed that players would leave practice and immediately go to their hotel rooms to play games, watch films or use their phones. However, we practiced together for a long period before we played. These days, players can leave after practice by using the cars that are available to them. We would always depart together during our time. Even Sachin Tendulkar would wait for the final player to finish his batting and fielding drills before saying, “Finish practice first, then we’ll go together.” Kaif went on to say.
The native of Uttar Pradesh also recalled how difficult it was for Virender Sehwag to fit in with John Wright’s training culture. Sehwag was frequently instructed to concentrate on fitness because of the mandatory gym sessions that required cardio, upper body, core, and legs.
“Virender Sehwag must be the one. He was constantly advised to concentrate on his fitness. When John Wright was appointed coach of India, he established a culture that required going to the gym and performing cardio, upper body, legs, and core exercises. This was required, and you had to upgrade your training each time you went.
Typically, we would run and do one more thing, or no more than two things. Even though he could have only done one or two of the four exercises, Sehwag would always mark off the boxes when he went to the gym: legs, upper body, cardio, and everything. Sehwag had 50–60 ticks after a month, compared to our 20–30 ticks. He struggled to adapt to the workout regimen because he was a gourmand.
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