Batman Robin and the art of power-hitting

To meet the demands of the format and correct his own technical shortcomings,Uthappa has in recent times physically transformed himself to a big muscled cricketer,who stands out for clearing the ropes with the cleanest possible hits. Bangalore team mate Jacques Kallis recently commented that he had seen only a few players in his long career who can hit the ball better than Uthappa. According to the Royal Challengers team trainer Shanker Basu,Uthappa is easily the strongest player in the squad,closely by Kallis. He can do 150 kg squats, says Basu.

Both,Kallis the second highest run-getter this season behind Sachin Tendulkar and Uthappa incidentally admit that the addition of physical power to their batting,along with minor technical changes have been key to their success in IPL III. During the last off-season,I worked a lot on my batting,fitness and my mind. The results are showing now. I am a lot more confident, Uthappa says.

In modern cricket,fitness is a crucial factor otherwise careers are going to be start and stop affairs. Its now about power and speed. A young cricketer can look at earning a healthy living by just staying fit, Basu adds.

Trainers like Basu who are internationally qualified fitness experts are constantly looking for means to balance the demands for physical power in the T20 game with the need for good old fashioned timing,rhythm and grace in the course of preparing players for the game.

A medicine ball Uthappa bounces one before he gets into bat and fast bowler Dale Steyn uses one as part of his pre-match bowling warm-up has been one of the devices trainers have turned to tune players for the slam-bang needs of the format. Medicine ball training improves your power output and hence we use it as part of our warm up routines since it activates all those muscles needed to hit a ball hard,bowl or throw fast. Technically,it is called post work titanic. It means that when you about the execute the shot,you feel you have the physical power, adds Basu.

According to the Bangalore trainer,the medicine ball routines is a lot like tennis players swinging with two racquets in pre-match routines. When you get into the middle,there is no need for settling down. You are ready to go from the first ball. A rhythm and flow is also ingrained, he says.

So,how does a team with 30-plus players like Anil Kumble,Rahul Dravid,Kallis and Mark Boucher stay power oriented? All of them are great professionals. They are the first to turn up for training and the results are there in their performances, Basu says.