Ace it like Dhoni: Best exercises for a budding cricketer

With the IPL season on, we take you through a series of workouts that every aspiring cricketer needs to practise to boost their performance on the field.

Editorial Team | Updated: March 28, 2019 8:49 am

To become a cricketer and reach the highest level, you need to stay fit. Image Source: Instagram/ @ chennaisuperkings_cskofficial

The biggest cricket carnival of the country, Indian Premier League (IPL) is in full swing and in a cricket-crazy nation like India, the majority of your evenings during a match day are usually spent in front of your TV screens or at the stadium. The excitement scales up even more if you are a budding cricketer or have one at home.

To become a cricketer, you not only need to have exceptional skills with the bat or the ball, you also need to stay fit in order to reach the highest level. So, apart from pitch practice, a cricketer needs to follow a proper fitness regimen. The demand for physical fitness is more for short-format games like Twenty 20. However, the training methods vary depending on the kind of role you perform at the field. For example, the fitness regime for a fast bowler is completely different from that of a spin bowler. Similarly, a batsman will work on a different set of muscles as compared to a wicketkeeper.

Nowadays, cricket is played throughout the year and this is what makes the cricketers more injury prone. Since they’re always on the move, lack of rest puts more strain on their muscles. The muscles that are most likely to get injured are hamstrings. That is why strength training is a must for every cricketer.

Another crucial aspect of top-level cricket is speed, whether you are running between the 22 yards or gearing up to your delivery stride or chasing a ball to save it from crossing the boundary line. So it is important for aspiring cricketers to take time out for speed training along with their regular cricket drills. Here we share with you the workouts that can help you to train like an ace cricketer.

Kettlebell snatch

There are various kettlebell workouts that fitness enthusiasts opt for. Exercises like kettlebell snatch and swing can be fruitful for an aspiring cricketer as they generate power with the help of your arm swing. This movement is similar tobowling, throwing the ball or while playing a shot as a batsman.

How to

Stand in a position where your feet are about hip to shoulder width apart
Hold on to a kettlebell in an open-chested posture
Lift the kettlebell straight overhead and make sure you lock your elbow
Take the kettlebell back to the original position

Bench press

Whether you’re bowling, batting or wicketkeeping, you need immense upper-body strength to be able to stand out from the rest. Bench press is a workout that involves your chest, triceps and shoulders and offers a significant boost to your upper-body strength.

How to

Lie flat on a bench and make sure that your head, shoulders and hips touching the bench
Now, grab a bar with your arms about shoulder-width apart
Lift the bar and lock your elbows
Slowly bring the bar down to your chest
Exhale and again lift the bar locking your elbows
Switch side and repeat

Squats

Any successful cricketer is a brilliant athlete and squats give you the base to become one. This workout helps you strengthen your thighs and lower body while giving you the stability, required for the movements involved in the game of cricket. This workout doesn’t require any equipment. You can perform this exercise out in the park or even in your room. It works on your quads, glutes, hamstrings.
How to

Stand by placing your feet in line with your shoulders
Extend your arms forward and bend your knees, keeping your back straight
Without altering with this position, try to stand using the strength of your feet

Deadlift

Much like kettlebell exercises, deadlifts can also be performed in various ways. However, barbell deadlift and stiff leg deadlift are considered the best for cricketers. They help to keep hamstring injuries at bay.

How to

Stand with your feet in line with your hips
Bend to grab the bar with your arms slightly outside your legs
Bend till your knees are close to the bar
Keeping your back straight and chest lifted, lift the bar just below your pelvic area
Take it back to ground and get back to the original position

Lunges

It is one of the basic strength training workouts that provides energy to your legs. Cricketers need to be quick on their feet due to the fast pace of the game, and this workout helps you to improve your balance and core muscles. It is very easy to perform.

How to

Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart
Take your left foot back and bend both your knees ensuring that left knee is slightly above the ground
Keep your right thigh parallel to the floor
Push yourself up slowly keeping your body weight on your right heels
Switch sides and repeat

Chin-up

In today’s demanding sport environment it is important for you to keep injuries at bay. Chin-up is a workout that helps you strengthen your back, so that when you bend over while batting or wicketkeeping, your back muscles don’t give up and lead to an injury keeping you out of action for months.

How to

Stand beneath a chin-up bar
Grab the bar and lift yourself up till your chin surpasses the bar
Gradually bring yourself down till your arms are straight

Bent over rowing

If you think bent over rowing is just for rowers, you are wrong. This workout provides a different dimension to your back muscles, as it works vertically rather than horizontally. It provides strength to your shoulders, back and biceps which are the key muscles involved in the game of cricket.

How to

Stand with your feet in line your shoulders
You can grab a barbell with an overhand grip
While keeping your back straight, bend your upper body
Now lift the barbell till your stomach
After a slight pause, bring the weight back on to the ground

Published: March 28, 2019 8:05 am | Updated:March 28, 2019 8:49 am

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