Andrew Leipus: A Fair Dinkum Aussie who loves India

"You know, though I am an Aussie, I still want the Indians to win. I want them to break this record. The Aussies have done well, congratulations to them, it is a fantastic achievement. But the bubble needs to be burst now, I'm afraid." These are the words of Andrew Leipus, the physio and trainer of the Indian cricket team.

In an exclusive interview with CricInfo, Leipus spoke in detail about his job and his priorities. "When you spend so much of time with a bunch of guys, and sort of click as a unit, it is not really a question of who you gonna support. You want the guys to win. You wanna be involved in a winning team"

This is the quintessential Andrew, the all-smiling, freewheeling spirit in the Indian camp. "When I first came here, I thought I am coming here as a physio. But now I am a sort of a mother hen really, doing both the things. But that is fine, John (Wright) obviously has a lot of things on his mind, from a coaching perspective and a cricketing perspective; but the physio obviously makes sure that the guys take to the field and stay healthy and this ranges from their diet to sore throats and colds to managing their wounds. I am actually a sports scientist and a physio. And, I have a degree from Australia. I guess I am sort of lucky, that I can do both the roles. The BCCI is getting two for the price of one."

When asked about the conditioning camp in Chennai, Leipus was all excited about what has been going on. According to him, this has been the best the Indians have ever had as it has been well organised and efficiently managed.

"The guys have worked hard. And the intensity with which they have been training has been second to none. I think the ultimate goal is to defeat the Aussies," says Leipus.

It must be music to every Indian fan to hear that, "Indian cricket is a lot different to what it was a year ago. A lot of things have improved and the players are benefiting. For example, it is more well organised, well planned out. The coach has allocated roles for me, himself and for the captain and things are running smoothly."

Though the busy domestic schedule doesn't allow the players to report back to him too often, Leipus is happy to have the core international players fit and raring to go. He is happy that the players haven't lost fitness and have maintained it. He adds, "the positive thing is there is no major injury scare, except for Kumble. I think we are fit, we are ready and mentally prepared to give the Aussies a good run for their money."

Leipus has a degree in physiotherapy and sports science from the University of South Australia. He puts his skills to use as the Indian team prepares to stop the all-conquering Aussie side. According to Leipus, cricket is not really all about fitness. He agrees that Indians are genetically not as athletic as their Caucasian cousins. "Indian people generally have smaller frames, but you have Indian body builders, so obviously it just takes some time in the gym and some effort."

Leipus says that for being a cricketer, skill comes first. "You might be the fittest person in the world, but if you don't have the skill you can't play cricket. So obviously skill is a priority at this level of the game. And obviously if you have two people with the same level of skill, then that person with the higher level of fitness gets an advantage in running between the wickets and stopping boundaries. I think number one is skill, which Indian guys have. Probably more than what the Aussies have. But then they make it up with their fitness, which is important, but definitely not the number one on priorities."

Leipus feels flattered that he has this enviable job of being the trainer of the Indian team. He feels the huge responsibility he has on his shoulders as he carries the hopes and aspiration of 100 billion people. "I respect the pride they have in their players, the passion they have for the game, I can understand their anger and sense of loss, when we don't perform well."

According to Leipus, "India as a place, is organised chaos. I don't know how it operates, but it operates. I don't know how they get it done, but they get it done". Leipus had been to India as a back-packer before he took up this job, traveling in crowded buses and trains to all modes of transport. He really understands the two different cultures that reside in this country. He finds it overwhelming that people do get into the way of his work, in the same breath he accepts that he is happy to be in India than being in a place where he could get hit or abused.

Leipus enjoys his Indian beer as much as the Aussie one. When asked where his base was in India, Andrew gave a cheeky smile and said, "My base is a suitcase, moving from hotel to hotel". And all the unglamorous things of professional sport like the frequent traveling, flights, transits and the life in the hotels takes the toll on this man who cares to take three small breaks a year to visit his fiance in South Africa (Andrew is getting married this June and then flying to Zimbabwe to join the Indian team who will be on tour)." This down to earth chap does miss his family back home in Adelaide. He misses the surfing, bike rides, a few beers with the mates and a barbecue.

The 31-year-old Leipus is all praise for Robin Singh for his all-round fitness even at the age of 37. "Robs is always good value. He does set a good example for the younger guys as well as for the older guys. For that matter, I am not sure about the reasons why he is not here (in the conditioning camp). He is missed, sorely missed. And we hope to see him for the One-Day series."

When asked about Anil Kumble's injury, he says, "Anil's prognosis remains the same, recovery in 4-6 months time". Though Leipus doesn't have a cricket background as a player, he has been active with tennis and Australian Rules football. He has been through the agony of being injured and had to switch over to triathlon because of a knee injury. Perhaps his life in India has made him more philosophical about life. He says, "A lot of people have lot of niggles. Unfortunately the media tends to focus on niggles as a major event. Guys are gonna get hurt and gonna get better again. That is professional sport."

Andrew Leipus is the healing touch for the Indian players. This jolly good bloke has his goal well set and is driven by it. "World Cup victory for India in 2003."