KKR pacer Nagarkoti seeks Cummins's tips on managing injuries

Abu Dhabi: Kolkata Knight Riders' young pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti is seeking tips from Australia pace ace Pat Cummins on how to manage injuries as a fast bowler. Nagarkoti, an India under-19 World Cup star, had been riddled with injuries and could not make debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after being picked in the 2018 IPL auction.

"He [Cummins] had injuries for a long time. So, I would want to ask him what mindset he had had during those three-four years, how he kept himself motivated and how he prepared himself for the comeback," Nagarkoti told KKR website www.kkr.in.

"I will definitely ask for tips from Cummins if I get a chance. For batsmen, my dream is to bowl to our [head] coach Brendon McCullum at the nets. I have seen him while growing up. His batting style was really aggressive and unique. I guess I can learn a lot from him about the mindset of openers. He was himself an opener, so he can guide me on this. It is important for a bowler to read the mindset of opening batsmen," Nagarkoti said.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) starts from September 19 in the UAE. Speaking about his recovery, the wiry pacer said: "Yeah, whatever training programme was advised by KKR, I had been following that. I had a chat with Abhishek Nayar sir and also spoke to my previous mentors at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Soham sir and Anand sir. They have a strong knowledge about my body, so they could suggest correct ways for me to improve. Basically, I took suggestions from all of them and picked out exercises that I could do at home."

Former Olympic sprinter Chris Donaldson was recently recruited by KKR as their strength and conditioning coach.

Asked if Donaldson's workout routine helped him, Nagarkoti said: "I could do some exercises that were moderately difficult. But some were extremely tough. I didn't even try them! You can't start off with such hard exercises. Gradually, as I become stronger, I will try them out." Nagarkoti also spoke on his rehabilitation process at the NCA.

"I used to interact with a lot of seniors at the NCA, including Rahul Dravid sir. He used to always help me sort out my issues. I learned a great deal when it comes to figuring out the areas I needed to work on, especially my body. Dravid sir has been really helpful in the entire process," he said.

"I have changed a few aspects in my bowling after consulting my coach Surender sir and KKR bowling coach Omkar Salvi sir. They shared a couple of pointers on how to reduce injuries. I have been working on them regularly and they have been pretty beneficial."