A challenge to get the
Indians fit: Le Roux

Attesting that the majority of Indian cricket players are far from fit, Adrian Le Roux, the new trainer of the team, says it is going to be a challenge to get the team fit, and he would not be afraid to crack the whip to achieve his end.

The South African, the first-ever trainer of the Indian team who will be in charge till the 2003 World Cup, also said India plays far too much cricket the year-round for players to recover from their niggles and injuries.

"I think that you (India) play a lot. Look at South Africa. After the Australia series they will get a couple of months off.

"That is what a player needs to recuperate and recover from any niggle. Because you need time off. You need time to recover both mentally and physically," Le Roux said.

On getting tough with the players, he said: "I will go through the channel; I will inform the coach (John Wright). He has also told me if I work with the players and things are not going as I would like them to go, then I must inform him.

"I am going to keep a very detailed log book on what I got to do with every player right from the start so that at the end of the day I could see what I have done with the player.

"It is a challenge to get the Indians fit. It's not going to take a day or a week to get them fit, or as fit as I want them to be; it is going to take a bit longer, but my objective is to make them the fittest in the world."

Le Roux is already in the process of making an assessment of the players and will have a detailed report submitted to Wright and the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the next 24 hours.

The new trainer also wants a structure to be put in place within the Indian cricket set-up for a player with national ambitions to know what is required of him.

"It requires close functioning at all levels of the game," said Le Roux.

"In South Africa, we, the fitness trainers, used to have regular meetings to keep a co-ordination going."

In India, things are still unsatisfactory as far as fitness is concerned. But Le Roux is optimistic a system would soon be in place.

"Andrew (Leipus), team physio, is already putting in his bit in this direction," remarked Le Roux. "I will work out the results probably by tomorrow and give the players, coach and the cricket board the feedback just to let them know what my initial assessment is of the players."

Le Roux, who worked with the Free State side in South Africa for seven years, had his first brush with the Indian team after they lost the Bloemfontein Test inside four days.

On Wright's invitation, he had a session with the Indians and that was the beginning of his association with the team.

Mail Cricket Editor