Australia use technology to beat the heat at the Eden Gardens

Nowadays, fitness has become a key factor for many. From fit-bits to cross-fit, the gamut of options to quench the thirst of fitness freaks are hardly scarce. In sports, the phenomenon has swept across disciplines. Sports scientists are falling over each other to come up with the next big technology that will revolutionise the fitness and training industry.

In cricket, the fitness bug, which was largely relegated to the Australians for the longest time, is now a common thread that binds most teams that differ considerably in skill sets.

India skipper Virat Kohli’s obsession with fitness is well documented. The 28-year-old’s training regimen and diet has already inspired a fair number of budding cricketers to follow a healthy and fit lifestyle. However, despite this Kohli-inspired fitness fascination, Australians remain the leaders in pioneering new techniques to further their training.

On Thursday, as the temperatures soared following three-days of incessant rain in Kolkata, the Australian team took the field against India in the second ODI at the Eden Gardens, many in the team did so while wearing GPS tracking vests under their uniforms.

After pacer Kane Richardson bowled the fifth ball of the 12th over in the India innings, he pulled up due to the heat and wearily turned around. The camera panned to a lump at the back of his jersey which Michael Clarke, on commentary, helpfully explained was a GPS tracker device which the Australian strength and conditioning coach would monitor to track the players’ fitness.

GPS tracking helps to monitor the players’ heart rate and count the distance a player covers during a game in terms of steps taken. The device also helps record the speeds that a player can reach during a match.

During a game, maintaining fluid levels is crucial. Especially, in hot conditions and sappy, like those prevalent at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. Most Australian players reeling within just a few overs of them taking the field. It appears, sensing the prevalent conditions, the management directed a few of its players to wear the GPS devices.

Monitoring exertion

The reading from the GPS helps the team management monitor how much a player has exerted and gauge the amount of energy he needs to go the distance.

It was back in 2006-’07 that the Global Positioning System was first used on the cricket field by Australian players. The technology had been introduced to the sport by the Australian Institute of Sport.

The study was sanctioned to find out how much players exerted during a match and used to evaluated the endurance levels of a player.

The Australian players first wore the vests during the team’s tour of India in 2007. The GPS data has since also been used as part of Australia-based broadcaster Channel Nine’s cricket coverage.

Other than cricket, the technology has been used successfully by sportspersons in disciplines like hockey and football.

India national badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand, too has made his wards, such as PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth to wear the GPS tracking devices.

While, India’s team management uses some cutting edge methods to monitor the exertion levels of the players, it has yet to take the next step to gauge the endurance levels of players during a match. Under the latest coaching staff and Kohli’s leadership, the intent is to assemble a robust and fit squad. Taking a few lessons from the Australian counterparts could go a long way to help them achieve that goal.

Also. with the interest generated by Kohli’s obsession with fitness, intricate data from his on-field exertion is bound to make for good reading. It could set a goal for many budding cricketers who want see the India captain as a fit and healthy role model.

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