© CricInfo When Rahul Dravid suddenly left for Cape Town on Sunday to have an MRIscan done on his troublesome right shoulder, prophets of doom in theguise of journalists could be seen everywhere at Kingsmead, Durban

Ashish Shukla29-Oct-2001Dravid provides latest worry for busy Leipus
© CricInfoWhen Rahul Dravid suddenly left for Cape Town on Sunday to have an MRIscan done on his troublesome right shoulder, prophets of doom in theguise of journalists could be seen everywhere at Kingsmead, Durban.Worst-case scenarios were imagined and attempts made to ascertain if theIndian vice-captain had been carrying this injury for long.Indian team manager Dr MK Bhargava was dismissive of these alarms,saying that the team management was only being prudent and money-smart.”Why not use the better opinion in this part of the world, rather thango back and let Dravid come here again to have a check-up?” He had nodoubt that it was just a precautionary check to ensure that nothingserious was developing in Dravid’s shoulder.Dr Bhargava said that they wanted to have a check-up done when the teamwas in Cape Town for five days before the finals. “But then, we couldn’tget a date before the 22nd and, on the 24th, we were playing animportant game,” said Dr Bhargava. “We also needed Dravid for the finalson the 26th.” Not only as a batsman, but also as a wicket-keeper, hemight well have added.Dravid’s injury scare provides an additional worry for team physioAndrew Leipus. He has had his hands full with injuries and, at a timewhen his stint with the Indian team is up for review, such a spate ofinjuries is perhaps cannon-fodder to those looking to ease him out ofthe team set-up.
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Leipus understands the implications and suggests that a physio can onlydo so much and that, generally, it is lack of a physical culture amongIndians that causes disruptions. “You might do eight laps of the ground,but you could still be unfit,” muses Leipus. He reflects that anAustralian or a South African goes to a gym regularly. “Why, even womengo to a gym three times a week!” The team is attentive to him, but oneguesses that genes and background can’t be changed easily.Talking of team fitness, everyone harboured a feeling that MohammadAzharuddin was the fittest of all Indian cricketers, but he regularlyfailed the ‘beep’ test and was the slowest in the long runs. Shane Warneand Steve Waugh are not the fittest of cricketers in internationalcricket today. “But then, they produce the goods, and that’s whatremains fresh in people’s might,” reflects Leipus. “That’s the thingabout sports. A baseballer or a marathon runner has different fitnessneeds from a cricketer.”It seems now that everyone in this team has been seriously injured inthe past year or so. The list of injured seniors – Sachin Tendulkar, VVSLaxman, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, and Ajit Agarkar- is in no way any longer than the list of injured juniors; AshishNehra, Zaheer Khan, Hemang Badani and Sadagopan Ramesh all have beenlaid up in recent times.Both Leipus and coach John Wright’s extensions are up for review onDecember 23. Wright ends his present contract on November 15, on the eveof the Second Test at Port Elizabeth; by the looks of it, though, thereshould be no problem in his case. Everyone from team members to formercricketers to team manager is singing his praises. His perseverance andattention to details are chilling; on the day the fixtures for the 2003World Cup were being announced, Wright was busy going through theschedule and checking what would be required for India to do well in themillennium’s first World Cup.As for Leipus, his case is still not clear. It would really be theIndian team’s loss, though, if he were to exit the set-up at this stage.He knows the boys and their medical history inside-out, and such adisruption, with just over a year to go before the 2003 World Cup, couldbe disastrous. But then, when has an Indian board really been worriedabout Indian cricket?