The big India Yo-Yo Test Tamasha - How serious is the BCCI about fitness of players?

[MenInG]

Five Cricketers Are Yet To Take Yo-yo Test Ahead Of Asia Cup Claims Report. Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson And...

The Indian cricket team is in its final stages of preparation for the Asia Cup. They are currently attending a camp in Alur, Karnataka where they are taking yo-yo tests. Accoridnf to a report by news agency PTI, young opener Shubman Gill has topped with an impressive score of 18.7. All the cricketers who have so far appeared for the YoYo test have passed the cut-off level of 16.5 with Virat Kohli also putting up an impressive 17.2 as per his Instagram story.

Save the five cricketers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (reserve member for Asia Cup) and KL Rahul have all undergone the test.

The Asia Cup bound India team has hit the ground running with the closed-door camp in Alur, where the squad members are undergoing routine fitness tests ahead of the continental event beginning August 30.

"The YoYo test being an aerobic endurance fitness test, the results could vary from when you last played and how much of workload you have gone through in the past week.

"Gill as of now has the highest score of 18.7. Most of the players have scored between 16.5 and 18," a BCCI source privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The fitness cum conditioning camp has been organised by the BCCI as this was the only window before the World Cup at home in October.

"If the players have a gap between two tournaments, the National Cricket Academy's sports science team along with sports staff of India team does conduct all the mandatory tests," the source said.

When the YoYo tests were introduced six years back during the time of erstwhile Strength & Conditioning coach Shankar Basu, the cut-off was 16.1 but since then the marker has been upgraded and it is 16.5 now.

Most of the young Indian players are very fit nowadays. Gill's 18.7 is a testament to that considering that he has played non-stop cricket since the start of IPL.

The first big break he got since March was the three weeks after completion of the 50-over series in the West Indies.

NDTV

 

[MenInG]

It has now come to light that captain Rohit and vice-captain Hardik have also cleared the yo-yo test without any difficulties. Their exact score, however, won't be revealed. "The tests were successful and the reports will be sent to the BCCI soon," a source following the developments told PTI.

Notably, the current passing score for Indian crickets in the yo-yo test is 16.5. It should also be remembered that the yo-yo test score, like any other performance-based test, can vary on a day-to-day basis. A cricketer achieving 17 today can score 19 a week later or vice versa.

The Asia Cup-bound cricketers who were not part of the West Indies T20Is or the Ireland series mainly took the fitness drills on the first day of the camp, which is set to go on for six days. The Indian team will leave for Sri Lanka on August 30.

Hindustan Times

 

[Cricket Warrior]

I'm curious to know what Rohit Sharma's Yo-Yo test score might have been.

 

[Firebat]

Of course boards will want to set standards and thresholds, but there will always be players like Rohit or Hardik that will be on that plane no matter what.

 

[SamNJ]

The cut off must be whatever Rohit Sharma's score is.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Of course boards will want to set standards and thresholds, but there will always be players like Rohit or Hardik that will be on that plane no matter what.

Can understand Rohit but whats wrong with Hardik's fitness? I thought he one of the fittest player in this squad.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Can understand Rohit but whats wrong with Hardik's fitness? I thought he one of the fittest player in this squad.

In this new bunch of players i would rate shubman so high. He is a super fit guy and very athletic on the field.

 

[Stewie]

Extreme fitness is over rated. If you don’t have the cricketing skills, fitness ka achar daalna hai?

Players with exceptional skills should not be subjected to such a selection criteria. It should be used only as a tie breaker for average talent

 

[msb314]

Extreme fitness is over rated. If you don’t have the cricketing skills, fitness ka achar daalna hai?

Players with exceptional skills should not be subjected to such a selection criteria. It should be used only as a tie breaker for average talent

The other point of view of course is that it encourages players with “exceptional skills” to increase their fitness and maximize their talent..

 

[Stewie]

The other point of view of course is that it encourages players with “exceptional skills” to increase their fitness and maximize their talent..

That is valid as well. My point was you cannot solely base the selection decisions on peak fitness alone. There should always be exceptions made in case of out of left field talent.

I dont think people like Shoaib Akhtar would have played much once he started having issues due to his flat feet. Now would you have sat him out if he failed a yoyo test? Same with the Inzi of mid 2000s when he was leading the side as captain and scoring tons of runs yet his physical fitness left a lot to be desired.

 

[MenInG]

Rohit Sharma in his presser:

“By no means this (Asia Cup 2023) is a fitness test. This tournament is played between the top six Asian teams. So, it's a very big tournament.

"The fitness test, fitness camp…. all that was done in Bangalore. Now, we have to go ahead and get our game face on and see what we can achieve in this (tournament)"

 

[Hassan A]

Sunil Gavaskar not happy about the fuss around VK's fitness and puts out some cold truths:

"There was a lot of excitement when Kohli put out his YoYo score which was more than the limit that the BCCI trainers had set. Shubman Gill posting an even better YoYo score than Virat was by no means one-upmanship. The age difference between the two mustn't be forgotten and the elder has to be admired for his fitness standard. The BCCI then directed that nobody should post their YoYo test scores which might have actually saved some blushes for some"