Former Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews has shown impressive improvement in his fitness levels and physique as he starred in the recently concluded limited-overs series against West Indies. The veteran turned back time in the field just like he did in his early 20s. He also bowled after a long time after being sidelined for injuries.
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Here’s an extract of an interview on Angelo Mathews’ fitness journey conducted by Andrew Fidel Fernando for ESPN CRICINFO Stump Mic podcast.
- What are you doing during this isolation period?
I’m at home for 4 weeks now. I get to help my wife around quite a lot. Normally I travel a lot but my family doesn’t. So, this break has given me the opportunity to catch up with lost time. I have tried taking some cooking lessons, duplicating what my wife does.
- You’ve come out a different player in recent times. How did that journey start?
The real change happened just within a day. I had a lot of injuries over the last couple of years. I had some bad times with those injuries and being in and out of the team. That bothered me a lot. I was getting frustrated a lot as well.
So, one day I woke up and decided to myself that I need to change whatever I’m doing now. Obviously, you can’t stop the injuries 100 percent but what you can do is work hard and try to minimize that happening.
Then I had a chat with my trainer, Dilshan and we decided that from that day onwards to be extremely disciplined when It comes to food because I’m a big foody. I had to cut down everything and look after myself and my diet to achieve what I want to.
We tried different things in the gym as well and these three months have been great. The results were to be seen in and out of the field. I feel lighter and quicker now and all the credits should go to all the physios, trainers and everyone who helped and supported me. I just like to continue this as much as I can.
I’m enjoying my cricket and I know fitness is number 01 in these days. It will definitely help in the long run. I’m glad that I made that decision.
- What food/dish do you miss most?
I want to be consistent with my fitness and I eat a balanced diet. It’s not that I’ve completely stopped eating sweets. It’s impossible to do that. On and off, I’ll have some sweets and fried stuff on a limited scale. But if I have those, I make sure to go to the gym and work harder.
- How do you feel after you’ve achieved your fitness goal?
As I said before, I feel much lighter and quicker now. It’s all about the training which I did and the diet. I experienced it myself and that’s why I just want to continue it. It’s very easy for us to sit back, relax and have a go at the foods, especially in these times but you’ve to keep working hard.
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- Do you wish that you’ve done this a little earlier?
Yes, definitely.
Earlier I worked extremely hard but I didn’t get to that level of fitness. To be really honest with you, I’ve not been 100 percent disciplined with my food. I really wish I’ve done this before but there are no regrets. I still have time to achieve my goals.
Yes, part of me says I should have done this before but I don’t regret because you can’t change the past.
- You made a big impact on your fielding in the West Indies series. How did you improve your fielding?
I think it has come out as a result of my fitness regime. That has changed me and got me at the level when I was as a 20-21-year-old. That’s actually pleasing as I work hard as anyone in the fielding because it is an important aspect of the game.
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