In order to increase the endurance of the players as well as the mental toughness, the Indian cricket team to Undergo Intensive Boot Camp in Himachal Pradesh just before the start of the South Africa series in October, which includes three T20 internationals, five ODIs and four Test matches.
The Indians will undergo intensive high-altitude training before the first T20 match against the Proteas in Dharamshala. For that, the MS Dhoni-led side will reach the hill town on September 28, two days before their scheduled arrival.
Indian team with military-style obstacle courses and trekking:
It is reported that the boot camp will include obstacle courses, high-altitude trekking and barrier courses. It could also involve a hike of over 7000 feet above sea level and this exercise has been modelled according to the drills of the Indian Army.
“After the Indian team came back from Sri Lanka, Shastri had a talk with Anurag Thakur and requested him to grant the team necessary logistics for the high-altitude training. Anuragji gave a thumbs-up to Shastri’s plan and told us to make sure that arrangements were made,” an official of the HPCA said.
In 2006 Boot Camp organised by Australian coach John Buchanan:
When one thinks about boot camps in cricket, one goes back to the 2006 Boot Camp organised by then Australian coach John Buchanan to condition the players in handling pressure. The end-result was a 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2006/07 Ashes.
Now, the Indian cricket team has decided to undergo such a rigorous programme ahead of their marathon 72-day series against South Africa.
For MS Dhoni this Boot Camp will be a kind of exercise:
For India’s limited overs skipper MS Dhoni, this boot camp will be a kind of exercise he will be familiar with.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment in 2011. He completed his first parachute jump for the territorial army after weeks of toughening exercises in August 2015.
He is the first cricketer in the world to actually train as a paratrooper and this boot camp will only serve him well for the present as well the future.