With strict diet plan, fitter Suryakumar Yadav shed 15 kg post surgery to get in shape for World T20
New York: Suryakumar Yadav is looking leaner and fitter than ever since his comeback to competitive cricket and much of it could be attributed to a regimented diet plan along with rigorous strength training to cut at least 12-14 kg he had gained after sports hernia surgery. World's No. 1 T20 batter Suryakumar was out of competitive cricket for close to four months after undergoing an ankle operation in December last, followed by a sports hernia surgery.
For an elite sportsperson, coming back to peak fitness is always a challenge and a strict diet plan is foundation to that.
"If you look at him, he is looking much leaner and stronger and 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 slight increase in his weight after surgery, which is a natural medical reaction not because he was off diet," Bhatia explained.
"Out of 15 kg that he shed, Dexa machine will confirm that 13 kg will be fat," she added.
At the National Cricket Academy (NCA), there is a Dexa machine to check a player's body composition and that gives break-up of amount of muscle mass gain and fat loss and amount of abdominal fat.
A strict diet plan in place
As much as one indulges in rigorous S&C training, one needs to also keep an eye on diet and that's where Bhatia came into the picture.
"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 has 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 recovery phase, the athlete needs an increase in the calorie intake and specially 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 structure?
"Basically, he was on three-meal structure and three went on to became four, when activity resumed.
"All meals had good quality protein like eggs, meat or fish and he is not fond of dairy products and that was excluded. When activity was much lesser, we had reduced the amount of carbohydrates, grains, dals were lesser, it was 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 flours. Vegetable and fluid intakes were high with soups and chaanch. Nuts and avocados based on availability was 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 would consciously avoid hotel food.
The elite athletes are now spending significant amount of money from their own pockets to have their respective chefs on board and also book them apartments where they cook their meals and bring it for the players at the team hotel. The practice is more prevalent on long tours.
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Governor urges enhanced budgetary support for higher education in state budget
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday urged the state government to provide stronger budgetary backing to the Higher Education department in the forthcoming state budget.
Presiding over the Karnataka State Public Universities Vice Chancellors’ Conference–2026, organised by Lok Bhavan in collaboration with the Higher Education department and the Karnataka Higher Education Council, the Governor stressed that public universities require structured and sustained financial support, a press release issued by Lok Bhavan said.
“Universities, having limited internal revenue sources, require special financial care and structured budgetary support,” the release quoted Gehlot as saying, while appealing to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure the March 6 State Budget is more beneficial to higher education.
The Governor expressed satisfaction over the Chief Minister’s participation in the conference and voiced confidence that the upcoming budget would prioritise higher education.
He specifically called for filling long-pending vacancies in institutions such as Karnataka State Dr Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Kannada University, Karnataka Janapada University, and Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics University, along with adequate financial provisions for their development.
Emphasising the need to strengthen government universities, Gehlot said deliberations at the conference reflected Karnataka’s readiness to steer higher education in a new direction.
He also called for increasing admissions in government institutions and examining why students prefer private universities despite higher fees.
The Governor stressed strict adherence to academic calendars to ensure timely admissions, examinations and declaration of results.
Improved coordination between Vice Chancellors and Registrars, upskilling of academic staff, curriculum updates aligned with present-day needs and the introduction of job-oriented courses were identified as priorities.
Highlighting campus development, he stressed the need to improve quality, cleanliness and greenery, and urged active implementation of initiatives such as “One Tree for Mother.”
He also encouraged universities to promote sports participation to enable students to represent institutions at district, state, national and international levels.
On governance and transparency, Gehlot pressed for strict compliance with central and UGC guidelines within stipulated timelines.
The release said he emphasised that institutional credibility depends on resolving internal disputes democratically and maintaining transparency in financial matters.
He added that the Chancellor must foster harmony among stakeholders to avoid unnecessary inquiries and administrative disruptions.
The Governor suggested that universities expand international collaborations for academic and student exchange, enhance national rankings and address faculty shortages and infrastructure gaps.
Leveraging central schemes and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds was suggested as a way to bridge financial constraints with State support.
According to him, universities should preference to Indian traditional dress as uniform attire during annual convocation ceremonies to promote cultural heritage.
The conference commenced with the rendition of Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana and Naada Geethe. Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar welcomed participants and outlined the objectives of the conference.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar were among those present on the occasion.
