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First time since WW2 every cricketer will be on same fitness level, feels former India physio

The 13th edition of the IPL, which was scheduled to be played from March 29, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its outbreak in India.

First time since WW2 every cricketer will be on same fitness level, feels former India physio

India's captain Virat Kohli (C) attends a training session along with his teammates ahead of the first T20 international cricket match of a three-match series between India and Sri Lanka, at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Barsapara in Guwahati on January 4, 2020. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Indian men’s cricket team’s former physiotherapist John Gloster believes it will be the first time since the Second World War that every single cricketer will be on the same fitness level but admitted that Indians could have a “physical disadvantage” due to space crunch.

“The physical constraints that the Indian players are now having seems to be a lot greater than that of the guys in say, South Africa, Australia or the UK because space is an incredible constraint here,” Gloster was quoted as saying by PTI.

“I’ve seen some fantastic footage coming out of the players in the UK where they’re in their own gyms and they’ve got lots of space, and I think the Indian boys are going to be perhaps at a physical disadvantage there.

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“Every single cricketer, probably for the first time since the second world war, will be starting from exactly the same place in terms of match fitness,” Gloster added.

The Rajasthan Royals physio also feels the break will increase the injury risks of the cricketers when they return. After a long period of being out of serious training, it will be difficult to manage their workload as they have the expectations weigh heavy on their shoulders.

“This is really interesting, because normally when we enter an environment like the IPL, we have to manage guys who are overloaded, and factor that into their training, as well as guys who are under-loaded and need to match the necessary levels,” said Gloster who also works with the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.

Meanwhile, the 13th edition of the IPL, which was scheduled to be played from March 29, has been postponed to April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, with India in the middle of a 21-day lockdown till April 14 in an attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, IPL 2020 has been forced to face an existential crisis as the April 15 start looks highly unlikely now.

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