COLOMBO, July 26: Inzamam-Ul-Haq. They said he looked more like a sumo wrestler than like a cricketer. His girth was the butt of all jokes -- from his critics to his colleagues.

Batting with him in the middle was an occupational hazard. The threat of run-out omnipresent -- either he himself or his partner being the victim. Such was his notorious lethargy. Once a writer, when Inzamam got himself run out said ``he turned for the second run with the grace of an ocean liner!''

But all that is past. Today Inzi -- as he is affectionately called -- is lighter, faster and fitter. An intensive diet cum training programme has enabled him to shed copious weight and bring about a new look to his persona and performance.

It all started when Dr Dan Kiesel, the Pakistan cricket team's physical trainer and medical expert, quizzed Inzamam as to how long he can lift 20 litre Coca Cola bottles. Inzamam replied, ``About five minutes.''

Dr Kiesel edged him on, ``C'mon Inzi. You can do better than that. You are a strong boy.''

Inzamam then said, ``Okay Dan. Maybe 10-12 minutes, but not more than that.''Dr Kiesel then stunned Inzamam. ``My friend, you are carrying that kind of excess weight 24 hours a day.''

The doctor's psychological ply worked. Inzamam woke up from his slothful slumber. Then began a fitness regime that was designed to melt the layers of adipose from his massive frame.

The diet he was subjected to comprised 65 per cent Carbohydrates, 15 per cent proteins, and 20 per cent fat. Breakfast was cereals and skimmed milk with just two slices of bread. He had to sustain that frugality for the rest of the day, day after day. Aerated drinks were a strict taboo.

So what does he consume in the drinks break during matches?

``Just water with a dash of lime,'' reveals Inzamam, fiddling with a measuring tape around his waist while he spoke to the Indian Express in Dr Kiesel's room -- the place resembling a messed up chemists' shop with medical apparatus littered all over the place.

The 6'2'' Inzamam started his international career as a 21-year-old weighing 80 kgs, but ballooned upto 90 kgs before he went on to the diet-cum-fitness programme. ``I have a tendency to gain weight easily,'' the talented cricketer revealed. Inzamam was also suffering from a niggling knee injury on his left knee which required surgery after the Sahara Cup in Canada. He was in forced hibernation for six weeks, during which Inzamam did some deep thinking on his fitness. He turned to Dr Kiesel for help.

Jogging, interspersed with sprints for an hour, weight training, work-outs for hamstrings, quadreceps and other exercises became the mantra for Inzamam. Two months later, Inzamam was sporting a new look -- minus 20 lbs.

``I am much quicker now. I can use my footwork better and can run faster between the wickets. My concentration powers have gone up and I don't get tired very easily. In the end overs (of an over-limit game) I have life in my muscles to slog. Now I am really enjoying my cricket.''

Dr Kiesel credits Inzamam with strong will power. He, however, adds that Inzamam has always been one of the strongest men he came across.Dr Kiesel knows what he is talking about. He may be 59 and sporting hair that is more salt than pepper. But he is an incredibly strong man. He raises his trousers to his knees to allow a feel of his calf muscles and tibialis anterior. One did not know whether they were muscles or granite.

Dr Kiesel narrates an incident that gives an insight into his deceptive strength. He recollects the time when he came across a mountain of a man. ``This person had 58 cm biceps. He said he ate eight steaks, 21 eggs and three chickens everyday. He could easily lift 440 lbs of weight. He was a professional champion wrestler. The man engaged me in a bout of arm wrestling. The result? It took him eight long minutes to beat me, which made him very angry. I was a very proud man that day,'' Dr Kiesel says in a rare moment of self-adulation.

Dr Kiesel, who has also trained the Sri Lankan cricket team and Olympics athletes from Germany, Israel and Malaysia, is a doctor, a qualified physio, osteopath and also a trained homeopath and acupuncturist.

Though Inzamam credits Dr Kiesel for his new look, the latter puts things in perspective when he says, ``You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Whatever Inzi is today is because of his own hard work.''

The doctor says that one of Inzamam's routine was was 35 metres sprint in 5.2 seconds after which he had to retrace his steps back and repeat the process all over again the next minute.

He had to do that six times in six minutes, which is a lot more taxing than it sounds. ``You can now see Inzi actually making diving stops,'' says Dr Kiesel, as both of them laugh.

They can afford to. The battle of the bulge is won.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.