Reason behind resignation of India's fitness trainer revealed

The news of the Indian cricket team’s strength and conditioning coach, Shankar Basu, handing in his resignation to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday had taken many by surprise with various reasons touted behind the sudden decision.

While it was reported in some quarters that many members of the Indian dressing room were critical of his approach, there were a few who believed that Basu was the reason behind the spate of injuries that many players had fallen prey to in recent times.

However, according to Sportstar, Basu is simply taking a break from the sport and national duty to attend to a few family issues and his business – the Primal Patterns Holistic Fitness Studio located in Chennai.

It is understood that both the BCCI and the Indian cricket team, especially Test skipper Virat Kohli, who many believe to have benefitted immensely fitness-wise since Basu took over the reigns prior to the Test series against Sri Lanka in 2015, is eager to have Basu back with the team ahead of the Champions Trophy in England next year.

Basu, who has also worked with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Tamil Nadu Ranji Team previously, is himself keen to rejoin the national team once he finishes off his pending issues. The BCCI is expected to name an interim strength and fitness coach for the Indian team, with Basu’s predecessor, Sudarshan, the front-runner for the post.

Basu is expected to miss India’s ODI and T20 series against England as well as the one-off Test against Bangladesh while the four-Test series against Australia will also come a bit too early for his liking. Basu is one of the most highly regarded fitness coaches in the country with his holistic approach to physical well-being attracting huge praise.

He has been instrumental in Mohammad Shami’s recovery to full fitness after a career-threatening injury and even Ravichandran Ashwin had a few words of praise for Basu after collecting the ICC Cricketer of the Year award recently.

So while it is now a fact that the BCCI has accepted his resignation per say, it can be a considered a ‘lengthy leave’ with Basu expected to return to the helm as strength and conditioning coach of the Indian cricket team in time for the Champions Trophy to be held in England in 2017.