Fitness tests dropped as selection criteria for Indian Cricket as Virat Kohli retires from T20Is

In a recent development, the yo-yo test and other fitness tests are not the selection criterion to play for India anymore. It is believed that the focus has now shifted to injury preventive tests and performance tests for the centrally contracted players.

According to the TOI, a National Cricket Academy (NCA) document clearly states that the standard fitness tests are not a selection criterion for the players anymore.

At one time, the Indian team management under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri had made yo-yo tests compulsory for players to get into the squad. But this is not the case anymore.

Also read: "I wanted to have a piece of it" - Rohit Sharma reveals why he did the 'Grass-Eating Celebration' after India's T20 World Cup 2024 win

Why are the standard fitness tests not a selection criterion now?

The decision to not have standard fitness tests as a selection criterion was taken by the BCCI's medical team at the NCA after recurring injuries to big players like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah after the 2019 ODI World Cup.

The NCA team, which has physios and strength & and conditioning coaches, has devised three proformas, which are known as National Fitness Testing Criteria (NFTC), Performance Testing Battery, and Prevention Testing Battery.

The NFTC is to be done every 12-16 weeks, performance testing every six weeks, and prevention testing every two weeks. The NFTC involves 10 10-metre sprint tests, 20 20-metre sprint tests, a standing long jump, yo-yo tests, and a dexa scan (fat percentage).

The document states that these numbers are derived from the average of athletes in an age group and are only group benchmarks and not the criterion for selections. 

"Please note these are only fitness measures and not a selection criterion," the document reads.

Different tests for youngsters and centrally contracted players

The yo-yo test and 20 m sprint numbers are different for the emerging cricketers and different for the centrally contracts cricketers. For centrally contracted players, the mark is set at 16.5 while it is 16.7 for emerging players.

Once a regular test, the yo-yo test is now a rarity at the NCA nowadays. The idea behind this is that the player must have reached a desired level of fitness since he is centrally contracted.

The players spend a lot of time on the road and play a lot of cricket in the whole year. So, it will be unfair for them to undergo NFTC tests. This is the reason why the focus has now shifted to injury prevention and performance tests.

"With the amount of cricket and time they spend on the road, it is unreasonable for contracted players to undergo NFTC tests. So, the focus has shifted to injury prevention and performance tests. Team India strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai, along with physios Yogesh Parmar, Thulasi and Kamlesh Jain, has done a great job keeping the players in shape through the 2023 ODI World Cup and this T20 World Cup," a BCCI source was quoted as saying by TOI.

What is Prevention Testing?

The most important part of these tests is the prevention testing. In this test, there are various tests like overhead squats, walking lunges, glute bridge hold and half kneeling medicine ball throw. These tests are brief and only a player's posture is checked through such tests. If a particular player struggles to remain in the correct posture, then it is a warning sign that he could be prone to injury.

Along with these tests, there are GPS vests and whoop bands as well, that provide the required information about the running-bowling metrics and also collect the data of a player's sleep and recovery

"There are data and tests galore to ensure that the player is in prime shape when he takes the field. The performance testing battery and prevention testing battery played a big role in players going out on the field and performing without worrying about breaking down," the source added.

In the cases of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja, the medical team tried to use these battery tests in 2022-23. Surgery is the last option in this regard.