“MSD’s fitness levels are out of the world, even at this age he can beat any youngster in the sport in terms of mental and physical fitness. He is like Lake placid, no emotions shown, always with a cool head”, Ramji Srinivasan shares his memories about the former Indian captain and his fitness levels at CII, Coimbatore for a fireside chat with CII members as a part of their learning programme.
It was an amazing interaction and it was a treat to be there listening to him talk about the game and the cricketers.
You would want to listen more to him if you are a die hard Dhoni fan. He also repeated what MSD said before the World cup finals, “Come on boys, Lets go out and enjoy the game, don’t think about the results, enjoy yourselves”- words usually said by Dhoni every time the team went into ground and that made him the adorable leader in a cricket crazy nation.
Ramji Srinivasan was the national team’s fitness trainer from 2009 till mid-2013, when they won the World Cup and Champions Trophy, and became the No.1 Test side. An outspoken personality and an amazing speaker, the memories he share about great cricketers like Sachin, Dravid, Lakshman and Dhoni, any cricket lover would be spellbound.
After a very successful stint with the Indian team he resigned after the passing away of his mother to spend time with his daughters. The proprietor of Quantum Leap Sports Performance in Chennai, he returned to Cricket joining Tamil Nadu Cricket association as the fitness coach for the TNCA academy and TN Ranji team.
Ramji started his cricket career with MRF pace foundation in 1996, was there till 2009 where he worked under the legendary Dennis Lillee. It was a period when fitness protocols and processes used to come from Australia and England. He adopted systems from outside but changed them according to our country, conditions and customised processes suiting Indian players. It was the time when the era of f current fitness trends and protocols started and rest is history. Our players became fit, less injury prone and became at par with foreign cricketers.
Ramji shares his fond memories about Sachin Tendulkar, his respect for Sachin is immense which reflects in every word of his about the Master blaster. “Sachin was going through a tough period with his injuries in 2006 and many had written him off. In 2006 Sachin came to MRF foundation for fitness training with Ramji. “It was like God landing on your doorstep.” Sachin went back and proved everyone wrong. They both have developed a relationship since then which goes beyond professional.
Ramji recalls the 2011 world cup semi finals against Pakisthan. Ramji was also incharge of the players diet and when he walked into the dining area in the Mohali stadium before the match he was shell shocked since there was no food at all. The players had come and the caterers were stuck with Security. Ramji stood there helpless and that’s when Sachin said this to the team. “Boys all of us are hungry but the truth is Ramji is helpless too. Don’t show your hunger in the dressing room, show your hunger in the ground”. It was such a powerful statement and the players went in for the warm up without a word. Team India won the Semi finals and then the World cup after 28 years.
Sachin had huge respect for Ramji and that landed him as a fitness coach of Mumbai Indians in 2008 which he continued till 2012. Ramji was called by the BCCI as a fitness trainer for the then emerging India team and later he became the fitness trainer for the men in blue.
“Being the first Indian trainer to be appointed by BCCI made me immensely responsible, If I had failed BCCI would never have considered appointing an Indian trainer at all.” - A true statement which says it all about a country where anything from outside is revered more than the extensive talent pool available in our own land.
Ramji has all words of appreciation for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. “Virat Kohli is the best when it comes to fitness in todays times as far as cricket is concerned. The way Indian cricket has changed under him is phenomenal. He has transformed his aggression to controlled positive aggression and we continue to be the No.1 team”.
Ramji’s advice to young cricketers, “Eat our own food with some dietary advice from experts. Sleep well, ask questions. Only if you ask questions you will learn and improve”.