India vs Windies: Ajinkya Rahane recovers the ice bath way

It isn’t an easy task playing in the Indian subcontinent. The temperatures soar up to the higher side of the 30s and extracts all the pulp out of a players’ body. Although they constantly keep rehydrating themselves with energy drinks, it is still not easy being on the field. Moreover, if it is a Test match that is being played, things only get worse. The situation of team India was similar when they took on the Windies in the second Test in Hyderabad.

It was extremely hot in the city and staying in the field for long durations wasn’t easy. Ajinkya Rahane was there on the field for almost two sessions on the second day. He, along with Rishabh Pant stitched a 152-run partnership to bail the team out of trouble.

When a person is subjected to such intense workout kind-of periods, muscles tend to get sore. Hence, to put the players back on the field the next day, strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu has got the ice-bath into implementation.

Rahane cools off with an ice bath after a long day

“Ajinkya Rahane in the ice bath today. It was very hot and humid in the centre. They’ve been using this for quite some time now. It definitely helps. Especially, when you play in the subcontinent, the heat is oppressing. I think it is a cool respite to these boys,” said Basu while explaining the process.

Along with Rahane, Mayank Agarwal was there at the ice bath. Apparently, he worked hard for two or three days during the Test match in Hyderabad. Shankar Basu said that Mayank’s energy is infectious. Mayank also added that it was very cold in the ice bath tub.

Basu said that there were many contrasting opinions about the practice. However, he added that over a period of time, they have found out what works for which player. Furthermore, he noted that some players never get into the ice bath while a few others love it.

The S & C coach also heaped a lot of praise of Jinks. “With Jinks, any amount of praise from the trainer is not enough. This fellow is an unbelievably hardworking freak. It is the other way around. He is after us. Seldom we’re after him. Our task is to stop him from hardworking,” he said.

Here is the video