Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Speed and agility comes naturally to Dhoni. He is the fastest Indian between 22 yards. Having said that the Indian captain is not really fond of training. He is not the one to run the extra mile. Nor does he pump a lot of weight in the gym. But being muscular and strong, Dhoni can do any challenging exercise in the gym. He has a pretty low body fat percentage. A long slow cardio would draw a frown, the sight of a football would bring a smile.

Strength: Speed

Weakness: Cardiovascular endurance

Score 7/10

Rahul Dravid

Extremely passionate about his fitness, Dravid is truly a trainer’s delight. Whether it’s hot or cold, he would land up ahead of time. The criticism about his slow movement spurs him on to put in a lot of speed work to overcome it. In the demanding cardio intervals he just refuses to give up. Though he doesn’t appear muscular, he lifts remarkably heavy weights.
During the Indian conditioning camp in 2005 under Greg Chappell, Dravid trained in the morning and then took the gruelling four-hour-long fitness test. When asked why he was driving himself so hard ahead of the Test he said: “To survive at that level you need to put in the extra hard work.”

Strength: Cardiovascular endurance

Weakness: Speed/agility

Score 8/10

Virender Sehwag

His favourite training programme is having a go on the cardio machine with his iPod hooked to his ear. He fancies the elliptical cross-trainer. He, of course, does all the group training but like Dhoni he is not fond of spending hours on a fitness regimen. Sehwag loves his north Indian parathas and is high on body fat. Strangely, he refuses to believe that carrying that extra kilo affects his speed. In the gym, he does a few customary routine exercises and lifts extremely moderate weights. He favours the traditional squats and bench press. He would rather crack jokes and have fun in training than be intense.

Strength: Long, slow cardiovascular endurance

Weakness: Speed and muscular strength

Score 5/10

Anil Kumble

A workhorse. Very few know that Kumble suffers from tachycardia, which is an abnormality in heart rate. Even at rest, his heart rate is above 100 beats per minute while the normal count is 72 beats per minute. That’s a stumbling block for him in ground training, but he is such a resolute character that he refuses to yield.
As we went for a high-intensity run, he struggled after a minute and said, “Dada, I am hyperventilating.” I would advise him to stop. But he would say, “Chalo, humein karna hoga,” and carry on. Kumble carries multiple injuries on various parts of his body, but he doesn’t care about them. When he hits the gym he does it with intensity and pumps heavy weights though he doesn’t appear muscular. He has a higher percentage of body fat.

Strength: Core stability and muscular endurance

Weakness: Speed/ agility

Score 6/10

S. Sreesanth

A rare breed among Indian cricketers — muscular and a fitness fanatic. The best part of Sreesanth is that he always enjoys the training. On the ground, he is good both in cardio and speed and thrives on competition, especially if a fitter guy is pushing him. In the gym, Sreesanth loves to pump weights and frequently looks into the mirror to see the effect. He wears body-hugging clothes and flaunts his biceps. He can perform difficult lifts. The music in the gym is a real motivator for Sreesanth. In between exercise sets he unravels his talent with some superb dance steps. So, it’s real fun to have him training with you. Fairly low in body fat, Sreesanth aims to get a six-pack someday.

Strength: Speed and power

Weakness: Core strength

Score 8/10

Irfan Pathan

Not muscular but one of the fittest around, Irfan is really particular about his fitness regimen. Even if there’s no one in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Irfan would take me and run around. To improve his bowling rhythm he would call Paul Chapman, the Australian head trainer, to the NCA and keep working on his running technique diligently. In sprinting he is among the quickest. And in the gym he can take on Sreesanth in any exercise. Irfan lifts heavy weights and enjoys being in the gym. Like Sreesanth, he too fancies a few dance steps in the gym.

Strength: High-intensity cardio and power

Weakness: High percentage of body fat

Score 8/10

Gautam Gambhir

A real livewire in the training ground. A man of few words, Gambhir strives to compete and relishes the speed work. His short stature can mislead you about his speed. Unlike other north Indians, he is selective about eating and has a pretty low body fat percentage. In the gym he loves challenging workouts rather than the common bench press. You all see how he clears the fence so effortlessly; the secret lies in his heavy explosive lifts.

Strength: Speed/ agility and power

Weakness: Long slow cardiovascular endurance

Score 7.5/10

Manoj Tiwary

Among the fittest youngsters till his shoulder operation, Manoj has clawed his way back to peak fitness. He is equally good on the park and in the gym. His running fitness scores and strength scores are almost similar. Although his running style is non-conventional he is pretty quick in the 30 metre distance.
Manoj enjoys speed work and is exceptional in flinging his body to any distance during training. Of late, this Howrah lad has developed a penchant for muscle. During the last India A camp he had discernible muscular hypertrophy and he wore a real muscular look. Manoj has a low body fat percentage and he nurtures a desire to develop a six-pack.

Strength: Speed and power

Weakness: Nothing as such

Score 8/10

Wriddhiman Saha

At the moment, perhaps, the fittest Indian cricketer I have handled. A superb natural athlete, he excels in all departments. He dislikes long slow cardio and relishes speed training. His jumps are exceptional and in plyometrics he can perform amazing stuff. This KKR boy is awesome in strength; his lifting technique is a trainer’s delight. He does explosive power-lifting with ease and really loves to spend hours in the gym. Being the leanest cricketer, his body fat percentage is anyone’s envy. Like Manoj, Wriddhiman wants to get more muscular and there’s no guessing who leaves the gym last!

Strength: Speed, power and body composition

Weakness: Nothing as such

Score 9/10

Zaheer Khan

At the start of his career Zaheer wasn’t that keen to sweat it out. But following a series of injuries he now does his fitness work religiously. On the park Zaheer is on the slower side. He realises this and puts in extra sessions to get faster. Although a fast bowler, Zaheer’s body fat percentage is a bit on the higher side. A quiet man in the gym, he can lift a fair bit of weight. His regimen consists of a lot of ankle stability exercises since he injures that part quite often. Zaheer loves his shoulder and chest exercises and more than running he loves to sweat it out in the gym.

Strength: Muscular strength and power

Weakness: Cardiovascular endurance

Score 6/10