Shankar Basu all set to resume India duties as a fitness coach

Shankar Basu, India’s strength and fitness conditioning coach who had resigned from his post about five months back is all set to resume his duties with the Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy. He had earlier taken a break from the team after the Chennai Test against England last December owing to certain business and family reasons. It is believed that Indian team’s coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli in favour of Basu’s return to the team. As per Sportstarlive, Anand Date, who came in as a replacement for Basu during the series against England, one-off Test against Bangladesh and the four-match Test series against Australia will be replaced ahead of the mini World Cup.

Basu has worked on the latest power training techniques

It is also believed that not only will this be move be a permanent one but his family will also be allowed to travel with him on tours thrice a year. Basu is credited for the massive improvement in the fitness levels of several Indian players which include skipper Kohli, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and R. Ashwin. Basu has always said that his aim is to take the fitness of Indian players to the next level. He is known to have introduced the Indian team to the latest methods such as Dexa Scan, load monitoring app, and Yo Yo training after joining the side in June 2015.

Basu has worked closely with Kohli on the latest power training techniques. In Umesh Yadav’s physical transformation, he is said to have played a crucial role. He was also responsible for the significant improvement in the fitness levels of Bhvneshwar Kumar and R. Ashwin.

India’s journey ahead

With the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) coming to an end on May 21, the Indian team will travel to England to defend their Champion’s trophy title. The men in blue will play two warm-up matches, against New Zealand and Bangladesh before they face arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4 in their tournament opener.

With the Indian team set to play several series away from home over the next couple of years, the move to retain Basu’s expertise can turn out to be a great one.