CHENNAI: An empty LPG cylinder, tyres, a stick and resistance bands. That’s all India cricketer Pooja Vastrakar has at her disposal for workouts. Member of the squad which finished runners-up in the ICC Women’s World T20 in Australia, she is stuck at home in the city of Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh.
Pooja and her teammates returned to Mumbai via Dubai on March 10. She joined the Madhya Pradesh girls in Indore a couple of days later for a domestic tournament, when the BCCI suspended all cricket till further notice. “I returned to Shahdol on March 15 and was asked to undergo 14 days of self-isolation due to my travel history. I completed that on March 30 but now I have been advised to continue it for seven more days,” the 20-year-old told this daily.
Being in self-isolation doesn’t mean the medium-pacer is exempted from doing workouts. “I don’t have fitness equipment at my place. The India team trainer asked each one of us about things we have at home, which can be used for workouts. I have sticks, empty LPG cylinder, tyres and resistance bands. He guided me on how to make these things useful,” said Pooja, who has played 6 ODIs and 20 T20Is.
Despite limited resources, she does physical training including power exercises at least for two hours every day. She also practises yoga and does stretching for another couple of hours.
Speaking on her immediate plan, Pooja said she wants to regain pace which she lost after a knee surgery in 2018. “As I am fully fit now, I will try to hit the pace I used to bowl at before the surgery. I have to do a few minor adjustments, but I am confident I can do it.”
The quarantine period was going on fine until her elder sister fell ill and was admitted to a private hospital. “She became weak due to fever and doctors asked us to hospitalise her. We were worried, especially because of COVID-19 and all that. I sought permission from authorities to be with her at night. I used to return home in the morning for the workout session. She is alright now and was discharged from hospital on Monday.”
Pooja played only a match in the tri-nation women’s T20 series, the event which preceded the World T20, before being ruled out due to hamstring injury. The right-arm pacer recovered in time and played a warm-up match against the West Indies but could not find a place in the playing XI during the prestigious tournament.
“Our spinners were doing good. We didn’t want to tinker with the winning combination. It was unfortunate that the plan didn’t work in the final but as a team we did our best,” Pooja said.
The players might be confined to their homes due to the lockdown but they are in touch with each other over their WhatsApp group. “We usually don’t discuss cricket in the group while away from the game. We try to post light stuff to keep everybody entertained. Jemimah Rodrigues and Harleen Deol are the biggest entertainers,” she added.