WSMC Founder/Director and current Proteas Physiotherapist, Craig Govender, returned home from the IPL, before heading back to India for an international T20I series against the home country.  Upon his return we finally sat down with him to get an inside view of his time at Mumbai Indians before he dashes off again with The Proteas for their tour to England. 

How did your opportunity come along?

I was initially asked to be the physiotherapist in 2019 but due to a few technicalities I could not join the team.  After the Indian Tour to South Africa in January 2022, I was asked again to reinterview for the position of Head Physiotherapist, as their former physiotherapist from Australia could not return to the team.  

Reinterview?  Who was part of the interview panel?

The Owner, Mr Akash Ambani ; The Team Manager, Mr Rahul Sanghvi and the Director of Cricket , Mr Zaheer Khan 

How was your introduction to the team? 

When I got out of my 5 day quarantine period, I was introduced to the Management by Team Manager Rahul Sanghvi and Head Coach, Mahela Jayawardene, who’s famous last words were “ Welcome to hot seat “ .  

As an entire team, we had a team builder, which was hosted by Mrs Ambani.  At the event, we were all introduced on a personal level and each had a chance to speak about our journey.

What were you take home experiences?

Sport is a business and should be treated as such. I read extensively about business and leadership and follow authors such a Simon Sinek and Jim Collins.  Understanding their mindsets in books, is evident in how the IPL and Mumbai Indians operate.  I personally try to instill the same knowledge gained in their books in my own business at Wanderers Sports Medical Centre, which I guess has made the transition a bit easier.  

Trust your journey and knowledge. Working under immense pressure is not rare to me, having been part of 2 World Cups and a number of competitive Test Series, were injuries were all around me.  So the pressure at the IPL was not too much of an adjustment. 

There was no room for mediocrity and each member of staff are accountable and responsible for outcomes.  

We are never to old to learn and should never stop. I was challenged every single day and that motivated me even further. 

Working with international staff, allowed me to learn more about their ways of thinking and approach to Sports Science/Medicine and coaching ideas.  

Knowledge sharing was all around us and all individuals were more than willing to share , debate , have hard conversations and come to a common ground for the betterment of the team.

We are in the “human” business and each individual we work with, may they be South African or foreign all have unique personalities.  Take the time to understand people.