The Girls Didn’t Conquered The Silverware But Captured A Billion Hearts, Says Physiotherapist Anuja Dalvi Pandit
Jul 26, 2017 at 4:18 PM
The Story
Indian Women’s cricket has received the much-needed boost in popularity after the Mithali Raj-led side finished as the runners-up in the just concluded ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. They were quite close to creating history but host England had lady luck by their side and eventually snatched an unlikely victory to pocket the piece of history.
The women’s side is growing at a steady rate in this decade and the improvements are also impressive. However, widespread recognition is missing to a great extent. This void should now be filled greatly by the performance in the World Cup.
The loss was bitter but the love from millions of newly earned admirers slightly made up for the defeat.
Digital Media and growing High Standards Responsible For The Surge
Team physiotherapist Mrs Anuja Dalvi Pandit, in an interview with a sports website, has revealed that the remarkable growth has been made possible due to the rising standards in women’s cricket and digital media.
“Women’s cricket in India metamorphosed during the World Cup. In 2005, the girls played Australia in the final, but the attention they received was not as much. I have heard the stories of the then team, it was packed with some equally brilliant individual performances,” the physiotherapist of Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Mrs Anuja Dalvi Pandit recalled in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.
“However, with furtherance in technology, the world has got closer through digital media, which is why we got to witness each moment of the 2017 edition. What underlines the success of the team is that we didn’t just watch the games but also enjoyed every bit of the show. The girls didn’t conquer the coveted silverware but conquered a billion hearts,” Pandit continued.
Dalvi has a degree in Master of Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapy from the University of South Australia and is an accredited cricket physiotherapist at National Cricket Academy.
She has been associated with the national team since and long time and has worked with the NCA and the BCCI, Mumbai Cricket Association and the women’s cricket since 2009 as a physiotherapist
She also overlooked the fitness camp in which the ladies took part before their participation in the quadrangular series in South Africa.
“The girls got great exposure on the tour to South Africa earlier this year. Performances like the world record partnership between Punam Raut and Deepti Sharma, and returning home with the tournament trophy, boosted the team’s morale and that helped their case in England,” she says.
Fitness Regimes Similar to Men’s Cricket
She also tried to explain that there are no special arrangements for women as far as fitness is concerned while trying to burst the myth that men generally have a different regime as compared to the women.
“Women’s and men’s cricket both follow similar fitness regimes, although there are obvious physiological issues to consider. Cricket fitness relies heavily on stability and balance, on hand-eye coordination and sports specific strength. You don’t have to be a body builder to be a good cricketer.”
“But to an extent, strength training also plays a significant role since the pace of the game is increasing with each passing day. There are injury prevention strategies that the physiotherapists use to prevent overuse injuries,” Pandit elucidates.
When asked for names the fittest names in the team, Dalvi tagged Harmanpreet Kaur, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma and Smriti Mandhana as the fittest.
“Punam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma & Smriti Mandhana are some of the fitter players in this current team and it is obvious on the screen. As I aforementioned, you need not be too strong physically but should have a combination of balance, stability and coordination. You can observe the cricket fitness with Mithali’s elegant strokes.”