A book published recently has references to Barry Bonds’(SF Giants slugger)use of performance enhancing steroids.
Baseball has a lot of similarities with Cricket. And hitting HOMERUNS has as much to do with timing, mabe even footwork, eye-sight and hand-eye co-ordination as hitting SIXES in Cricket. So I am wondering how steroids help…sure it gives you the muscular biceps(like what Bonds has developed)…but I have seen our skinny Ganguly hitting massive sixes with sheer timing.
That said, strength is probably more important in Baseball than in Cricket…because in baseball you are mostly hitting the ball off-the-air unlike in Cricket where batsman can hit the ball on-the-up after pitching.
Long kahaani short - can drugs/steroids aid performance in Cricket (I am talking batting of course).
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
i remember there were accusations of the Indian team using performance enhancing drugs.....the physical trainer for the Indian team (maybe Leipus) just laughed at the insinuation. he said they never even used the gym to be able to take advantage of any such drugs.
this is clearly true for virtually all cricket teams. 99% of international cricketers are total weaklings.
the biggest power hitters in cricket - gilchrist, afridi, dhoni, sehwag, etc. are all either skinny, chubby, or both.....none of them have any muscles. So in reality, steroids probably won't help too much in cricket.
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
Who in his right mind would accuse the Indians of taking Performance enhancing drugs...I mean one can understand Performance diminishing drugs but.....
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
I would have really loved to divulge into this topic, but since I am not the subject matter expert, I would rather hold off my views rather than present a case from a point of view which would turn into unpleasant circumstances. However, I do wish to discuss steroids in depth, as to how it is used in another walk of life, widely known as professional wrestling. Please bear with me as I divulge into this twilight zone.
There have been indefinite (and very true for that matter) instances where wrestlers have taken 'performance enhancements' (a rather politically correct word) over a period of years, and getting very much addicted to it, pretty much risking their entire careers on a single piece of, a bone-crushing, tablet. It is already a wide phenomenan that such extreme measures are taken because, in the modern day and age, selected few amongst thousands of groups of people actually come to the arena to watch the guy 'wrestle' rather than 'show off his body', which, on the same token, is primarily what is lacking nowadays, from the core of National Television. The "regular" fans, or as we "the hardcore fans" in the wrestling industry call them, are much more prone and lingered towards the first indication of bulging biceps or a 6-pack, and hence the ultimate reason of these actions by superstars. Let me do point out that those who do take drugs are, well mostly, entertainers, and not wrestlers, in general. Hence, the point becomes clear. As in cricket, it is mentioned in the original initiated post that even 'skinnier' (to say the least) athletes are able to park the ball in the stands, and have done so memorable times in the past, and the same theory applies in wrestling as well. Rather than being actually involved in "wrestling" matches, such superstars, usually, are given storylines and characters which fit their lifestyle and scheme of things, rather than plots which are 'wrestling'-related. In the end, both equations balance out each other, and constitutes that even though any use of performance enhancements are likely to turn an athlete into a massive sub-machine gun from where bullets can be fired in all corners of the orbit, there have been numerous instances where even those athletes who enjoy the true spirit of the game and play their best to stay 'within' the rules are also very much able and possess the capability to factor out any negativity towards them, whilst turning over a new leaf into the positive frame of mind.
Hopefully, I have not diverted too much. Very informative topic, and certainly looking forward to all the replies!
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
Fast bowlers might get help from PED.
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
someone should check shoib akhtar, he is pretty big, his face looks like he takes steroids.
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
^ok u r dead.
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
Ok, this is the little bit I remember from my bio class…
Steroids are basically testosterone. This is a hormone, which iduces masculization in humans. It is naturally produced in both males anf females, although more in males. At puberty, it leads to deepening of voice, growth of facial hair 
and development of muscle. That is natural. So if you artificially take more, you get, deeper voice, more facial hair and more muscle. I beleive all three are useless for batting. A good batter judges the line and length of the ball, and then times a perfect stroke into a gap. (However taking runs will be easier! More muscle to run and more hair and deeper voice to scare bowler/feilders…!)
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
You should be more specific. Indian batsmen may not need PED, but bowlers definitely do :p
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
the benefit of steroids for cricket players will not be huge muscles....it would be rapid recovery from injury.
but i still don't think cricketers are physically competitive enough to start a steroid revolution.
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
I don't have that much info on "performance enhancing" drugs but I have certainly heard on TV about Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds taking them. However, I think(this is just my opinion), that they wouldn't be as helpful in Cricket as in Baseball. Just take a look @ Cricket players; even the best hitters like Afridi, Dhoni, GilChrist, Klusenor are way more skinnier than their counterparts in Baseball. Thus, I conclude it won't be as helpful if you are a batsman; but if you are a bowler, it might help you get more pace but overall, I really think they do more harm than good.
Umer
Re: Steroid use in Cricket - Can it aid performance ?
I think you must have got ur answer by now ..... (after aus / SA match)