Whether it's just basic physical activity like your morning or evening runs or something as big as playing cricket at a world-class level, what matters the most for any individual or a professional athlete playing on a world stage is recovery. Recovery plays a vital role after you engage in physical fitness; it is essential for repairing tissues, replenishing your lost energy (glycogen), reducing muscle fatigue and soreness, and enabling overall strength and performance.
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While recovery stays as a top priority, what can aid in getting accelerated and targeted results is the use of tech. By using data-driven insights from something like an Apple Watch and utilising advanced tracking tools, you can optimise your results and get a clearer path towards your desired goals. This applies to not just individuals but to professional players as well.
In an endearing conversation with the esteemed players of Gujarat Giants and their fitness coach, who showcased their talent and mettle at the WPL (Women's Premier League), Konark Tyagi, editor of Jagran HiTech, delves into some crucial aspects, focusing on the approach that the players and their trainer take while recovery is in process and how having a good tech buddy like a wearable helps in getting targeted and better results.
The conversation was joined by none other than Bharti Fulmali, Tanuja Kanwar, and their strength and training coach, Gary.
Beginning the conversation and turning the focus first to the players, Konark Tyagi shared his own past experience with Delhi under-19 cricket and delved into how technology that was previously not available is now at our disposal in 2026 with gadgets like the Apple Watch and a myriad of fitness bands and asked how recovery plays an important role in their overall training, to which the spin wizard Tanuja Kanwer replied, "I think recovery is a very important part, and with wearables like the Apple Watch, we are able to track the level of recovery the next day. It helps us track our sleep and aspects like how much deep sleep we were able to achieve, and it helps us in tracking the progress of our recovery."
Bharti Fulmali, the hard hitter, also expressed her opinion and said, "Previously I didn't like the idea of wearing a watch while sleeping, but now I am used to it because of Apple. So now I track my sleeping cycle and resting heart rate, which helps me a lot."
Moving ahead with the conversation, Konark Tyagi turned his focus to what happens on the ground while practising with a smartwatch, as these wearables are not allowed during matches due to rules and regulations. What is the mode that they use while training to capture those exact details? To this, Bharti Fulmali replied, "I mostly use it with the Cricket Mode, and while I am running or conditioning or for our workouts, I use the running mode or flexibility session modes." She further added, "I use different modes for different activities; like during yoga, I use the yoga mode, and while swimming or in the pool, I use the pool swim mode."
Upon being asked what Apple Watch series the players are using currently, the players replied that they have been using the Apple Watch Series 11.
Turning his attention to their coach, Gary, Konark Tyagi said that there's been a lot of talk about bands globally, non-display bands in particular. But when you talk about the Apple Watch Ultra, this is more of a more utilitarian product in terms of giving you that lifestyle angle, the option of using it as a phone, and the accuracy of Apple's fitness. Where do you rate this in comparison to the other competition in the market? To this Gary expressed, "I rate it very highly; it's a great tool and a tool we use." He further added, "Because the big thing, especially in competitions, is sleep recovery. That's the biggest sort of protocol that we look at, that we track." Explaining how the watch is not useful just for players but for the coach as well, he explained, "There's a lot of added value to that for a trainer as well; you've got a stopwatch feature. You've got all these things that we could use that maybe you wouldn't be able to use with other products. And obviously, it looks really cool."
Further in the conversation, turning the focus to young athletes, Konark Tyagi asked Gary, "What is the importance of recovery, and how would that be rated?" And, from Apple’s perspective, what would be considered a good sleep score, particularly for a cricketer? to which he replied, "So, yeah, sleep is the number one recovery tool or mechanism that will help you. Yes, there are other methods of recovery, you know, all sorts of massage and all that sort of thing, but number one is sleep. Your body is the best equipment that we have.
So, anything over 90 is what we’ve got to be looking for. As athletes, I think having over eight hours of sleep at night is really important."
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Coming back to the players again, Konark Tyagi asked if they have ever used the walkie-talkie feature in the Apple Watch, to which Bharti Tanuja replied, "I think I haven't used the walkie-talkie yet. Maybe Bharti has." To this Bharti Fulmali added her insights and said, "I have, because I've been using the Apple Watch for the last 2-3 years. So I've used it in my team, which is my state team."
So after an insightful chat, it becomes clear how tech-enabled recovery is helping the best of the athletes in the game right now, and this conversation with the team members of Gujarat Giants and their coach showcases the importance of recovery aided by tech.