In a long due Board of Cricket Council of India (BCCI) meeting, the first since India's exit in the T20 World Cup semis in November last year, the board decided to reintroduce the Yo-Yo fitness test as an eligibility criteria for selecting the Indian squad. The test was prevalent during Virat Kohli's leadership where he aimed to form a fitter Indian side. However, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has ridiculed BCCI for going back to Yo-Yo test, saying that the selection committee should now have medical experts rather than former India cricketers.
Writing in his column for Mid Day, Gavaskar explained that with spinners and pacers and wicketkeepers requiring difference in fitness levels, the Yo-Yo test will fail as a parameter.
"The point am trying to make is fitness is an individual thing and there is no such thing as one size fits all. The quick bowlers need a different level than the spinners, the wicket keepers need an even higher level and the batters perhaps the least. So it’s rough when the parameters are set for everybody and not according to one’s specialty," he wrote.
"Cricket fitness should be the prime consideration. And yes, it would be revealing if these fitness tests are done in the public domain with the media present for then we would know if a player is ‘yo yo’ or no no," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"Cricket fitness should be the prime consideration. And yes, it would be revealing if these fitness tests are done in the public domain with the media present for then we would know if a player is ‘yo yo’ or no no," he added.
{{/usCountry}}BCCI will also use DEXA (Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) as a parameter for selection which checks into various aspects like bone density and body fat percentage.
"The CAC has just interviewed candidates for the selection committee panel, but not one was a bio-mechanics expert or a body science person. Since eligibility is going to be based on the fitness of a player, it might be better to have these experts in the selection panel than former cricketers," wrote Gavaskar.
"After all if it comes to a choice between two players for a spot in the team these experts would be in a better position to tell which among the two is fitter than the other and never mind the runs scored or wickets taken by the two players."