Sports India

Indian captain Rahul Dravid Saturday said the squad’s three-day secret training at the Pegasus Institute for Excellence, about 65 km from here, would help players in the long run.

Addressing a press conference, a day after the players returned from the institute to resume their conditioning camp for next month’s triangular series in Sri Lanka, Dravid said the outing had given the players some ‘new experiences’.

‘Every camp has got some element that is directed towards the short term,’ he said about the stint, from which the media was barred. ‘There is also an element that is directed towards the long term.’

He added: ‘It (the stint) gave new experiences to people who tried to get something out of their personalities.’

The Pegasus Institute for Excellence is well known for its ‘Outward Bound Learning’ programme that is aimed at increasing tolerance levels.

‘We had a session in Tai Chi, which is like yoga. We had heard about it and we wanted to experience it,’ said Dravid. ‘It might benefit them. It depends on an individual how he takes it.’

The conditioning camp will continue at the National Cricket Academy housed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

A cricket camp will follow this one, before the team leaves for Sri Lanka.