When the Indian Premier League started in 2020, most Indian players looked out of shape. A cricket crazy nation, professional players never had such a long hiatus ever before. As the tournament progressed, many got injured while some returned to fitness. The conditioning has gone wrong for domestic players too, who wear the jerseys of their respective state.
To get the players back in shape, Assam Cricket Association organised a 12-day-camp at Barsapara Stadium officially known as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium. This is the first time ACA has organised a camp after the outbreak of the Coronavirus-induced pandemic. In this camp, selected players from Under 16, Under 19 categories have been called. Along with them, the Assam State Ranji team has also been asked to participate.
Pritam Das, Abhishek Thakuri and Rahul Singh from Silchar have got selected for the camp. Left-arm orthodox Rahul Singh is in UAE as he was one of the net-bowlers for Rajasthan Royals. So, he is likely to join the team later. Meanwhile, Abhishek Thakuri and Pritam Das are already toiling hard in the camp.
“It feels great to be back on the ground,” says Pritam Das, locally renowned as Cachar Express. Das adds, “After being in house arrest for so long due to the pandemic, a camp like this will help us retain our fitness essential for competitive cricket.
Bhaskar Bora who is the trainer of Assam’s Ranji Team is in charge of the camp. “The emphasis is on endurance and core. Both are very important for a pacer like me.
While the players are getting in shape for the upcoming cricket season, there is no clarity on when it will begin. The Board for Control of Cricket in India has already announced that it won’t organise all the domestic tournaments it earlier did. However, the schedule is yet to be rolled out.
Pritam Das is optimistic. “The number of cases is declining and the situation is improving. If we get the vaccine in the market early next year, I think we will be able to get back to normalcy. I am hopeful, the next domestic season will be action-packed,” concludes Das.
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