For a long time, cricket was the most unprofessional of professional sports, tennis is the most professional of professional sports. Till the early 2000s, fitness in cricket was a mere personal choice and not a prerequisite to getting into national teams.
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Hence very few cricketers followed a fitness regime that was as rigorous as tennis players. But the times have changed now. The players wanting to play for the country need to pass the fitness test first. Their skills, experience, and performance everything is secondary now.
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One cricketer who is left out for failing to match the fitness standards is Suresh Raina. It is believed that he has gained weight and is not as agile as he used to be in 2011-12. Raina is now nowhere in the scheme of things. He has even lost the central contract.
But since his exclusion from the side, he has been sweating out in the gym. His Instagram/Twitter account is full of workout videos which will give you fitness goals. He came to Mumbai last month to work on his fitness. There he met Sachin and received some valuable insights on the game. Thereafter he headed to Chennai to play Buchi Babu tournament. He failed to make a big impact in Duleep Trophy as well. Despite all the workouts, he failed the fitness test again, unfortunately.
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In July, Raina was seen doing his fitness drills with his trainer in Amsterdam. The 30-year-old is sweating it out and is very keen on making a grand comeback.
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Raina last played for India on 1 February 2017 in a T20I against England at Bangalore. However, his last ODI appearance came on 25 October 2015 against South Africa in Mumbai, a game remembered for South Africa”s massive 438 in first innings.
Raina didn”t have the best ODI series against South Africa back then. He has been out of side since then. He was picked for ODI series against New Zealand last year but missed games due to sickness, eventually losing his place in the side to Kedar Jadhav. With Rahane in sublime touch, Dinesh Karthik making his mark, Raina has his tasks cut out if he has to cement his place again.
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A veteran of 223 ODIS, Raina has scored 5568 runs at an average of 35. He is also the first batsman to score hundreds in all 3 formats for India.
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Raina should perhaps draw inspiration from his skipper Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli was once very fat and unfit but strict check on diet and rigorous workouts have helped him reach the peak of fitness.
– by Atharva Apte