‘Remain or leave’- Chief selector slams at ‘sloppy’ cricketers
Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been the most "overrated" cricketer in recent times - Pic by Priyanka Samaraweera
Bhanuka Rajapaksa is back in the news, perhaps for wrong reasons. In reality, Rajapaksa is a professional athlete and if he aims to pursue a successful career even at the age of 31, he should be focusing on maintaining the requirements of a pro-cricketer including fitness.
It’s no secret that fitness is an important and integral part for any sport, not only that of full contact sports. Nowadays, fitness is treated as primo even in cricket. Sri Lanka is perhaps far behind as a ICC full member nation to adopt the latest fitness criteria, which replaced the customary ‘YoYo’ test.
However, this new fitness criteria is criticised by a certain group, who highlights that skills, and nothing but skills, matters for a cricketer. This topic is now becoming a social issue, courtesy of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was omitted for a second time from an international series after failing the fitness test.
But is Rajapaksa a cricketer of that worth, to become a hot topic in the Sri Lankan parliament and even to have some raged fans and followers staging a protest urging Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to include him in the ongoing tour to India? Certainly no. Looking from the current international standards of professional cricket, he is just another athlete, who must prove his worth.
Instead of proving his worth, by maintaining discipline and the required fitness level, Rajapaksa recently gave up the battle of his own self, by quitting international cricket. His reasoning to quit was ‘family commitments’ but in reality it was Rajapaksa’s own failure to maintain himself as a professional athlete.
His skills, as a batsman, a safe fielder and a part-time spinner, is certainly unarguable. His penchant to skip fitness regimes is a famous and open secret. What Rajapaksa expects through this is best known to him, but let’s not forget that he is not a star in the making. He is just another cricketer among many, who is contesting for a position.
Before Rajapaksa was included by the present set of national cricket selectors, he had played seven Twenty20 internationals since 2019. After he was dropped on fitness grounds, Rajapaksa showed his genuine commitment to bring down the skin-fold to the required level and run the newly introduced 2km run less than the targeted timing. But after 18 T20 internationals and five ODIs, Rajapaksa still fails these tests, an unbecoming and indiscipline practice from a professional cricketer.
There was a time when Rajapaksa had a skin-fold of 71.5 and did the 2km run in 8 minutes and 33 secs. But the power-hitting southpaw had rather contrasting results after the latest tests. He has had a skin-fold of 102.2, way above from the required level of 85, and had run the 2km in 8 minutes and 35 seconds.
“This is not a harmful practice, it’s only for the betterment of cricketers. Of course we understand that players are different as individuals, and there are trainers and medical experts in this system to help the coaching staff and players bridge gaps, if there are any. In Bhanuka’s case, he should be a bit more committed than he is. That’s my personal view.”
“We cannot compare ourselves with West Indies, Ireland or Bangladesh. If we are looking at competing at the highest level, we should be on par with nations like Australia, England, New Zealand and India. This skin-fold, long distance running and other fitness practices are nothing new to Sri Lanka. We even had them back in 1996, soon after Alex Conturi joined Sri Lanka,” Chief Selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe said.
The criteria Sri Lanka has adopted for its skin-fold is of under 85, which was changed from 75 as set earlier. Earlier Sri Lanka had a cutoff mark of 8 minutes and 10 seconds to cover the 2km run, but now it has been changed to 8 minutes and 35 seconds. Even a former fast bowler, as part of the coaching staff, had run the 2km under eight minutes, which means Rajapaksa can easily achieve the levels, if he put in some extra effort.
Commenting on the present saga, Wickramasinghe outlined that Rajapaksa is not the only victim of the new fitness culture adopted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Even the World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva and a fleet of other cricketers have failed from time to time, until Rajapaksa.
“What lacks nowadays is the discipline. We had it back then, but now it’s so rare that it unknowingly effects the entire system,” he added.
It’s true that cricket does not require intense fitness regimes followed by other sports such as rugby, football or track and field. But with the present trend followed by global teams, if Sri Lanka is to be among them in international cricket as a competitive side, Wickramasinghe said that ‘changes must adopted’.
“This is not a harmful practice, it’s only for the betterment of cricketers. Of course we understand that players are different as individuals, and there are trainers and medical experts in this system to help the coaching staff and players bridge gaps, if there are any. In Bhanuka’s case, he should be a bit more committed than he is. That’s my personal view,” said the Chief Selector.
Adopting the skin-fold and 2km run into the fitness regime, India too had trouble initially, with many of their famed players failing the tests constantly. But the Indian board had maintained its stern stand in conveying its players the message, to which the players responded by being true professionals. The result, a fitter team with skilled players.
“If you take skills, we are even with any team. It was clearly visible during the recent Australian series. The difference between the two teams was the fitness level. Australia was way higher than us, and we should make sure to follow all protocols that will help Sri Lanka maintain our status as a cricket playing nation”.
Wickramasinghe, being a member of the World Cup winning team and part of Sri Lanka cricket in its peak era in the late 1990s and early 2000s, recalled on how Alex Conturi maintained the fitness level of the then players. Sri Lankan players were initially trained by the legendary rugby player and fitness trainer Chandrishan Perera, until Conturi took over to bring in a new fitness culture that fitted cricket’s needs.
“We cannot compare the bygone era, the intensity levels are different but there were still fitness criteria even during our playing days. After Alex (Conturi) joined, the skin-fold test were introduced. We even had to jog miles from the ground to the hotel even after a match. Unlike today, the technology was not available. We were fully disciplined and that’s the reason why we performed that well,” he recalled.
Back then Conturi would weigh each player prior to a tour, inbound or outbound, and according to Wickramasinghe, he would weigh each player daily during the entire series. If a player has gained an extra pound or two, Conturi would swiftly control the player’s dietary plan and make sure he hits back the same weight.
Comparing to other sports these benchmarks are way lower and countries have adopted different standards to fit its training and fitness programmes. According to experts it is the ‘YoYo’ test that many top performing countries evaluate player fitness. They claim it as appropriate to cricket and mandatory to pass the fitness benchmarks. But SLC has already decided to adopt the new trend followed by top cricket playing nations.
“We were controlled even with intakes of food and liquid, there was a proper dietary plan. And fitness was mandatory under Alex. We want the present Sri Lanka side to reach that status. That’s the reason why these new fitness protocols were introduced, by trainers and medical experts. These are levels any average athlete can achieve. If anyone cannot fit the flow, the doors are open, to remain or leave,” the former fast bowler sternly said.