The King of Kings

9th May 2008

The DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) has got off to a blazing start and the tournament has seen some good cricketing action in the past few weeks since its inauguration.

Besides the coach and the captain, there are other members travelling with the team who make sure that the players are at their fittest on the field giving their 100% for the entire three-hour duration of the match. One such person is the physical trainer who ensures that the players eat healthy and practise the right way to get proper preparation ahead of a match.

In an exclusive interview with one of our reporters, Gregory King - the physical trainer of the Chennai Super Kings - gives us an insight into what goes on in the franchise apart from the travelling and playing.

King firstly praised the Twenty20 tournament saying that the cricket has been good and watching their team and other teams scoring runs in the tournament has been great.

He added that the team morale of Chennai was good and they understood that in a tournament like this there will be days when you will win and days when you will end up on the losing scheme of things.

"Sometimes things don't go your way. The guys are still upbeat," said King.

King vouched that his team led by India's one-day international skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is working hard. "I will say that guys are working hard at the moment. We just have to try and make sure that they stay fit and focussed," said the Chennai trainer.

He admitted that a little leniency is provided to the players with regard to their diet while they are on the road travelling. But otherwise he was quick to point out that he made sure his team had access to the right kinds of food with proper nutrients.

King said that physical fitness of the Indian cricket team - of which King is the trainer as well - is taking a backseat due to the hectic schedules of the IPL matches.

"There's not much time to focus on fitness training (of the Indian team) at the moment since we are in the middle of a competition so things are very hectic. There is a lot of travelling, lots of matches and practices."

He promised that once the IPL tournament gets over he would have more time to concentrate on basic fitness with the boys in blue.

He concluded off by saying that he has no regrets being a physical trainer and not a coach as both are noble jobs in themselves.

The Chennai Super Kings defeated the Delhi Daredevils by 4 wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium today.