'Cannot have a player using a Test to warm-up'

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned India's approach of handling the fitness of its players and has strongly suggested a review of the entire process. Highlighting the example of Zaheer Khan - who had to pull out of the Lord's Test after playing barely one session on the first day due to a hamstring injury - Manjrekar said that the Indian think tank should have known better than rushing Zaheer straight into the first Test of a major series against England with barely any practice in English conditions.

Zaheer's previous international match was the World Cup final on April 2 after which he played in the IPL and later skipped India's tour of the West Indies due to an ankle problem.

"If Zaheer Khan had not gone to the West Indies the worry should've been that he was coming into a Test match cold," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. Though Zaheer bowled 20 overs in the first innings of the three-day match against Somerset where he finished wicketless, Manjrekar said that it was definitely not enough to be match fit.

"Just one side game, a few overs here and there is not enough. For people to suggest that he would ease into the series and that it takes a while for Zaheer to warm-up is not the right way to look at it at all. For the first match of a major series the player has to be ready; fighting fit and raring to go. The first Test match is critical."

After Zaheer left the scene at Lord's, the India bowlers toiled hard but that was not enough to stop England from piling up big totals in both their innings. MS Dhoni did admit after the 196-run defeat that India were short of a third seamer, something England proved could have a powerful impact on the match.

Dhoni remained sceptical at the post-match media conference about Zaheer's availability for the second Test at Trent Bridge. "We have three days but I am not 100% sure if we will play him or not," Dhoni said. "It is a long series and we don't want to risk any individual if he is only 90% fit as that only increases the chances of him getting injured further. It is very important to get the guys fully fit."

It is believed that Zaheer does not want to risk aggravating the injury and has expressed reservations in private about playing the second Test which begins on July 29. This is not the first time that Zaheer has broken down during a game. He was trying to feel his way back into rhythm against Somerset but did not bowl during the second innings of that game. This raised doubts over his match fitness going into the first Test, a scenario which Manjrekar felt was unacceptable.

"What has really come out from what happened to Zaheer is how we are managing the fitness of the senior players so that they are ready and raring to go in that first Test match," Manjrekar said. "We cannot have a player using a Test match to get warmed up completely."

"What is happening currently with the fitness of major players is that it is left to the individual, the way he wants to tackle his own fitness. I don't think the Indian physio has a plan for the overworked players. I don't think there is a sophisticated, well-planned approach. I think it is left to the cricketer himself.

"Zaheer perhaps made the mistake. India's worst nightmare came true on the very first day of the Test series. It is time [Indian cricket] starts looking at it a little more seriously and not leave it to the individual to look to assess his own fitness and approach matches the way it is being done at the moment."