If a Player is Match Fit, He Should Be Playing, Reckons Kapil Dev

Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev is the latest high-profile name to criticise the much-talked-about Yo-Yo test. 1983 While the World Cup-winning skipper is not against the test, he said that it should not be the sole criteria to select players in the national team.

It has been quite a while since clearing the test was made mandatory by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian team-management, in order to get fit players into the national fold at a different level.

However, the test has drawn controversies in recent times after as many as their players lost their respective spot in the distinct-level national teams.

Recently, the three players include Mohammed Shami, Sanju Samson, and Ambati Rayudu. Shami had to face an axe from the Test squad, for the One-off Test against Afghanistan at Bengaluru.

On the other hand, Samson and Rayudu lost their respective place in the India A and senior One-day International squad. Both Samson and Rayudu would have felt hard done by due to the test.

In addition, the duo had earned the call after their brilliant performances in the recently held eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) this season, Samson amassed 491 runs at an average of over 31 and a strike-rate of almost 138. Before that, he had a brilliant outing in the premium domestic competition Ranji Trophy.

Samson scored 627 runs in seven games with the help of two tons and three fifties. He had also scored a century against the visiting Sri Lanka side, last year, in a warm-up match.

So much so, Rayudu enjoyed his most successful IPL season with the bat so far. He played an integral role in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) title-winning run in the IPL, this year.

Among the top-five run-scorers, this IPL season Rayudu scored 602 runs at a strike rate of 149.75 including a ton.

However, both the players had to endure a heartbreak after failing the Yo-Yo test.

Previously, even Suresh Raina, Washington Sundar, and Yuvraj Singh couldn’t clear the test and lost their spot in the side.

Incidentally, Raina cleared the test later on and has now been roped in Rayudu’s replacement for the limited-overs leg of England tour, despite last having played an ODI in 2015.

And Kapil Dev, like many feels, that only match-fitness matters.

“If a player is match fit, he should be playing and there should not be any other criteria,” he told The Times of India.

 

“Even football legend Diego Maradona wasn’t the fastest runner but whenever he had the ball, he was the fastest. Similarly, every cricketer has a different way of responding to fitness drill. A bowler can perhaps clear the Yo-Yo test easily than a batsman. But this isn’t the ultimate test to judge a player. It comes down to your performances on the field. And cricketers should be judged only on the basis of their on-field performances ,” Kapil said.

When asked if the cricketers from yesteryears could have cleared test, Dev asserted:

“Sunil Gavaskar may not have enjoyed running more than 15 minutes as a part of his fitness drill. But he could bat for three days. Even the likes of Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly may or may not have cleared this version of the Yo-Yo test. But they turned out to be some of the best players India has produced,” the former all-rounder added.