(Suryakumar Instagram)
Suryakumar Yadav has made a remarkable transformation, appearing noticeably leaner and more robust since his return to competitive cricket. Much of this transformation can be credited to his disciplined dietary regimen and intense strength training, which enabled him to shed approximately 12-14 kilograms that he had gained following his sports hernia surgery.
As the world’s number one T20 batsman, Suryakumar faced a hiatus of nearly four months from competitive cricket due to an ankle operation in December, followed by sports hernia surgery.
For an athlete of his caliber, regaining peak physical condition is always a formidable task, and adhering to a strict diet plan serves as the cornerstone of this endeavor.
“If you look at him, he is looking much leaner and stronger and a little muscular, and diet was planned with supplementation to achieve that goal. Coordination between recovery rate and muscle gain rate, so we adjusted to achieve that in record time,” dietitian Shwetha Bhatia, founder of ‘Mind Your Fitness’, who has worked on Suryakumar’s nutrition for some time, told PTI during an interaction.
“Overall by now, 14-15 kg, there was a slight increase in his weight after surgery, which is a natural medical reaction not because he was off the diet,” Bhatia explained.
“Out of 15 kg that he shed, Dexa machine will confirm that 13 kg will be fat,” she added.
The National Cricket Academy (NCA) is equipped with a Dexa machine, which serves the purpose of assessing a player’s body composition. This advanced technology provides a detailed analysis, offering insights into muscle mass gain, fat loss, and specifically, the quantity of abdominal fat present.
A strict diet plan in place
“Post his injury, we made his diet plan a bit stricter, because when there is no activity, you don’t increase food directly like that but there was more focus on his recovery with vitamin supplements,” she said.
“He was at National Cricket Academy, more strength training was incorporated so that he would have a better comeback. We don’t get into his rehab programme but we need to co-ordinate with NCA in terms of his recovery rate because if it is going slow then it is falling short somewhere.
“Mutually it was agreed that strength training would be the focus and cricketers don’t get a lot of time for strength training when the season is on and usually get time when matches are not happening and mostly they practice their core skills.”
More than calories, normally the amount of protein, carbs and fat that the athlete needs is computed. In the recovery phase, the athlete needs an increase in calorie intake and especially the protein has to match because activity levels go up.
“The calories are increased keeping in mind that you don’t want fat gain to happen during that period, to make sure muscle mass is maintained,” Bhatia explained.
So, how was Suryakumar’s meal structured?
“Basically, he was on a three-meal structure and three went on to become four when activity resumed.
“All meals had good quality protein like eggs, meat or fish and he is not fond of dairy products which were excluded. When activity was much less, we reduced the amount of carbohydrates, grains, and dals were lesser, it was a low-carb diet.
“He doesn’t eat rice and uses substitute flour (not atta) for his rotis. He eats nuts and seed-based low-carb flour. Vegetable and fluid intakes were high with soups and chaanch. Nuts and avocados based on availability were also in his plan.”
Of late, players like Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant have had personal chefs accompany them on various tours as more and more players are being careful about their meals and consciously avoid hotel food.
Elite athletes are increasingly investing substantial sums from their personal finances to enlist their own chefs and secure accommodations where they can prepare meals. These chefs then craft customized meals for the players, which are delivered to the team hotel. This practice is particularly common during extended tours.
