Nitin Patel is the Indian team’s physiotherapist and he is current in South Africa in the capacity of the physio of the Mumbai Indians. He is currently coordinating with his counterparts in the seven other IPL teams and is monitoring the fitness of all the Indian international cricket players in the squads. He is reporting back to the BCCI with regular updates.

Though at this time any injuries are minor such as Zaheer Khan’s shoulder injury and Virender Sehwag’s ring finger injury that have kept them out of action, it is mainly as a precaution rather and an unwillingness to take a chance that is keeping them out. Care is being taken to see that no niggling problem becomes a full blown injury that may later keep the player out of action when required for national duty. Officials from the Mumbai camp as well as the Delhi camp have confirmed that neither injury is serious but care is being  taken not to aggravate anything.

It isn’t just fitness and injury that is a cause for concern, it is also player fatigue. The players had just returned from a full tour of New Zealand and had barely any time for rest before they were off for the IPL. When the IPL is over they return to India on 24 May and then it’s off to England again for the T20 world cup on the 29th. It will indeed be a challenge for the cricketers who have to been feeling some fatigue living out of a suitcase for so long.

Gary Kirsten expressed his confidence at Team India being able to handle the pressure of being defending world champions and that the team has played in many pressure situations since the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and has shown what they are capable of.

According to Kirsten, the IPL provided good experience and opportunity for players and gave the example of Yusuf Pathan, who came into prominence with his performance at the IPL. "The IPL provides a great opportunity for young Indian cricketers to show what they are capable of in a high-profile environment. They also get to mix with, and learn from, successful international cricketers. This can only be of benefit to Indian cricket. Performances during the IPL can definitely be a stepping stone to achieving higher honours. Yusuf Pathan was one example of that last year," said Kirsten.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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