Best Fit Forward

So every day, at 9 a.m., Chappell arrives at the NCA with his staff. The fixtures are John Gloster, Greg King, Andrew Leipus, Ramjie Srinivasan the fitness trainer at MRF Pace Academy, four fitness trainers from various state associations across the country, and an assistant to Gloster. The floaters are Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, kinesiologist Charles Krebs and Chappell8217;s old teammate Dennis Lillee.

By the end of the day they have the players bushwhacked. They sit staring at the water bottles kept at one corner of the ground without the energy to walk up and take a sip. 8216;8216;Zara paani pila de yaar,8217;8217; a weary Zaheer tells Balaji.

And while the players return to their hotel, Chappell and his team remain hard at work. There are reports to be written, charts to be drawn, diet-plans to be altered, lap-tops to be updated.

And questions to be answered. Chappell reels them off: What did they eat, what exercises did they do, was there any discomfort during the workouts8230;8216;8216;He Chappell likes it that way,8217;8217; says King.

Things were tough at John Wright8217;s first camp, too, at the IIT Chemplast ground in Chennai four years ago. Through a mixture of prodding, cajoling and arm-twisting, Wright 8212; assisted by Leipus and Geoff Marsh 8212; burnt the fat off every player.

And yet8230;One player at both camps, comparing Wright and Chappell, says that the former, though a workaholic, ignored the fast bowlers and left the fitness to Leipus. The team8217;s fitness improved only when Adrian Le Roux, the fitness trainer, jumped on board.

Fitness back then was merely the means to an end. Here, fitness is an end in itself.

The sharp focus is emphasised by the fact that, more than 10 days after the camp started, Rahul Dravid hasn8217;t touched his bat yet. The same for the others: No knocking around, no fielding, no catches high or low. The skills can wait, there is a time and place for that the camp is in a few days8217; time.

For a diversion, there8217;s yoga. Chappell swears by it and makes sure that the players subscribe as well. Noted yoga instructor and aerospace scientist Dr S N Omkar puts them through exercises that focus on core muscle stability 8212; it8217;s not about how much you can bend but how you bend.

Ramjie has also been involved with both coaches and sees a major difference between the two. 8216;8216;For starters, this camp is simply so foreign. The people: coach, physio, trainer, bowling expert, kinesiologist 8212; all foreign. And so8217;s the technique.8217;8217;

He believes, and the senior cricketers agree, that the camp has been more 8216;8216;scientific8217;8217; than any other in the past. Never before were fitness theories laid down with such emphasis.

Through all this, Chappell has displayed an air of calm authority. 8216;8216;Chappell is the boss and lets you know that8217;8217;, says one player.

8216;8216;There is a sense of authority about Chappell8217;8217;, says another. 8216;8216;I don8217;t know about the others but I always feel that knowing what he has achieved, it becomes difficult to question or challenge his advice.8217;8217;

Wright forced the players to push themselves, then would do anything it took to get them to fall in line. Chappell clearly states his idea and then leaves it to the individual to buy into his game plan.

8216;8216;He8217;s trying to make men out of boys8217;8217;, says a senior player.

Maybe he8217;s just trying to make winners out of losers.