PVL 2022: Kolkata Thunderbolts physio reminisces working with Tendulkar, Sehwag

Kolkata Thunderbolts' sports physiotherapist Dr Adnan Badr is well known in sporting circles. Before his advent as the team physio of the Kolkata Thunderbolts in the ongoing Prime Volleyball League, Dr Badr plied his trade as the official physio for the India Legends cricket team at the Road Safety World Series.

Dr Badr trained Indian cricketing legends - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, among others - in the Road Safety World Series.

Speaking about his experience working alongside big names in the sporting industry, Dr Badr said it was great working with cricket legends like Tendulkar and Sehwag.

"It was a great experience alongside working with the legends of Indian cricket. It is always fun and exciting when you are with people like Sehwag and Yuvraj who always keep you entertained and keep having fun. It was a totally different ambiance around there," he said.

Dr Badr reminicised a hilarious moment he shared with both Tendulkar and Sehwag, when the cricketers requested him to give them a lighter training workload.

"When it comes to my work, I am very professional and I keep interactions limited. But I do remember one instance when I was doing warm-up sessions with the Indian Legends team. It was a dynamic warm-up with a lot of stretches. I remember Sehwag and Tendulkar both saying, 'Dr. Sahab, humko jawan logo wali training mat karao, easy wali karao'," he said.

Dr Badr revealed how the dressing room automatically used to become more disciplined and quiet in Tendulkar's presence.

"Sehwag is always fun in the dressing room. When he is in the dressing room, he will keep fooling around with everybody. Whenever Sachin sir is there, everyone will be disciplined and be very silent. It was a memorable experience," he said.

Data-driven sessions for Kolkata Thunderbolts

Dr Badr has been working on physio sessions for the Kolkata Thunderbolts franchise. He started the sessions in Kochi in January and has moved the sessions to Hyderabad where the tournament is being played.

Opening up on some of the sessions that he has conducted with the Kolkata Thunderbolts squad so far, he said:

"We had some great sessions at the camp in Kochi. We conducted some aggressive plyometric training, speed and agility drills sessions on the court to deep tissue release and pain management sessions back in the physio room. We did a complete assessment of the players from a musculoskeletal perspective; which included checking for their muscle tightness, stiffness, range of motion, strength, etc," he said.

He added:

"Based on the data that we collected, we made a plan for the whole season, so that players don't get any injuries. And all this was all from a prevention perspective," he added.

Dr Badr praised the fitness levels of the Kolkata Thunderbolts players before arriving at the camp and said it made his job easier.

"These guys are all extremely fit. So it was easier for me and the coaches to go all out in the beginning when it came to the training part. We have slowly tapered down the intensity of training as the matches approach closer. The players are now even more confident to give their 120% on the field as they know a team of physios is here to prevent and take care of injuries," he concluded.

The ongoing Prime Volleyball League will feature a total of 24 matches and can be watched live on the Sony Sports Network, including in regional languages.