New Delhi: Former New Zealand Olympic sprinter Chris Donaldson has joined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise as their Strength and Conditioning coach for the 13th edition of IPL which will be held in the UAE.
Donaldson represented New Zealand in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, besides participating in the 1998 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. He was part of the 4x100m relay team that still holds the national record and post-retirement, he supervised the New Zealand cricket team for eight years.
Meet Chris Donaldson 😎
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) August 25, 2020
The former 🇳🇿 Olympian Sprinter is in charge of keeping our Knights fit this season, and the #IPL2020 journey has already begun with 𝗕𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 in Abu Dhabi for our #QuarantinedKnights 🔥🏋🏽https://t.co/CrbtkF7Jsf
Donaldson is helping KKR players to remain in shape by giving them “bedroom-workout routine” tips via group video calls. “I can’t ask the players to do what I can’t do, right? So while I can’t do the exercises as well as them, I certainly try to put in an effort,” KKR head coach Brendon McCullum said on their official website on Monday.
“I’ve also heard that the shirts this year – practice shirts and coach’s shirts – are going to be very, very tight. So, I need to make sure that I am not too fat as we get into the season,” said the former skipper.
KKR mentor Abhishek Nayar said about how the workout is hard and can show sore body for a couple of days.”The guys are now getting to know him. There have been some unbelievable workouts he has given every one to do. They are hard, and if you haven’t worked out for a while, you can’t do it. Sore bodies for a couple of days. But it’s amazing and very, very helpful for all the boys in this time of staying indoors,” Nayar told kkr.in.
Who is #ChrisDonaldson, and why are our #Knights petrified by him? 😂
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) August 24, 2020
Tune in today at 5:00 PM IST to find out. 🏋🏽#QuarantinedKnights #ChrisDonaldson #IPL2020 #KKR #KolkataKnightRiders pic.twitter.com/g0hSaVQYkr
In a video posted by KKR, bowler Prasidh Krishna has been seen talking about how petrified he is about Donaldson’s workout routine, and his thoughts are recalled by some of his teammates. “We spoke to Baz. We were telling him not to get him here because if he comes here, it is going to be challenging,” Prasidh said.
KKR has signed few big names for this season like Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan. While the Indian contingent has already reached UAE, the rest of the squad will be joining soon. The players who have landed in Abu Dhabi on August 20 are currently following the quarantine procedures as per the rules of the UAE government. The season kicks off from September 19 to November 10 in three venues of UAE – Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai.
