Food is fuel
And if you fuel your body right it will keep you at the optimum level for playing cricket. While you don’t need special supplements or diets to maintain good cricket nutrition, you do need to know what works best.
Cricket is a long game with various requirements: explosive power, speed, agility, strength, and recovery speed. All of these factors are heavily influenced by what you eat.
1. Pep up your energy!
There are main energy drinks for cricketers like red bull, monster, and mountain dew. Before the match drink 500ml water and every 15-20 mins cricketer have to drink 150-200ml water. Drinks play the main role for cricketers in the day to day life. Cricketers need to drink quality water or juices. While playing cricket your body must be hydrated in performance. Water is the main drink for cricketers because dehydration can affect your performance while a cricket match. To avoid dehydration, cricketers must to drinks 1-3 liters of water a day. And cricketers should not drink 1-3 liters of water at one time because it will affect their bodies.
2. Calibrate your diet basis your needs!
Cricketers can have a busy training schedule with multiple sessions throughout the day. The intensity of sessions can range from low to very high. Cricketers, therefore, need to establish a daily base of nutrient-dense (minimally processed) foods, which can then be adjusted to meet the fuel and recovery needs of each session. Nutrition strategies should be individualized based on position in the team, the intensity of the session, goals of the session, body size, body composition goals, and the period of time before the next training session or game. Whole grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, lean proteins, and vegetarian alternatives are all important foods for cricketers. Nutritious carbohydrate foods are adjusted to match training demands. For example, on heavier training days, athletes can include extra snacks like fruit, yogurt, or wholegrain muesli bars around training. On lower workload days, higher protein (lower carbohydrate) snacks like tuna and crackers or boiled eggs and vegetable sticks with hummus are suitable and filling.
3. The Pre-Game Strategy
A challenge for cricketers is that they do not know whether they will be batting or bowling on the first day of a match until 30-45 minutes prior to the start time. As a result, they need to prepare for a match assuming they will be performing on the first day. When fuelling for a match, eat enough food to feel comfortable (but not overfull) – experiment with a variety of foods in training. A larger meal 2-4 hours prior to playing will allow time for digestion. Top up fuel stores 1-2 hours before the start with a carb-rich snack (e.g. simple sandwich, muesli bar, fruit). Snacks should be low in fat as fat slows digestion and can lead to tummy upsets on the field. Carb-rich fluids such as smoothies or liquid meals can be good if you are prone to stomach upset from eating solid food before a game. Pre-game hydration is important to ensure cricketers begin the match in a hydrated state. Pale yellow urine in the lead-up to the game is a good sign of hydration.
