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Is it fair to have uniform fitness benchmarks for unconventional Team India finds?
Two seasons in a row Varun Chakravarthy has failed to pass his fitness test. Will there be another India call up for the IPL sensation?
Two series in a row, "mystery" spinner Varun Chakravarthy, 29, has been selected to play for India. Two seasons in a row he has failed to pass his fitness test. Will there be another India call up for the IPL sensation?
Like Chakravarthy, leg-spinner Rahul Tewatia, 27, too was picked for the England T20 series based on his showing in the last IPL. He is currently with the squad but remains unavailable for selection, until he can clear the yo-yo test or the 2km time trial (8.30 minutes), the team's fitness benchmarks.
If there was any doubt fitness was non-negotiable for Virat Kohli, the captain reiterated on Thursday that he “expects players to abide by what’s required to be able to play for team India.”
But with the IPL throwing up hidden gems like Chakravarthy, Tewatia and T Natarajan, players with unconventional routes to top-level cricket, is it fair to subject them to the same standards of fitness as those who have come through the full grind of age group or state level cricket?
“Yes,” said Ramji Srinivasan, former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian team. “The game has become very physical, and one has to be an intelligent and adaptable athlete to survive the onslaught.”
No, said another fitness professional from an IPL franchise who did not want to be named. He called the tests "unfair".
“Because it’s not about the tests alone," he said. "It’s also whether they have the knowledge of how to train for it, what to eat, how to hydrate for it. It’s equally important when the test is conducted; whether it’s pre-season, end or middle of the season.”
Six months back, Chakravarthy, Tewatia or Natarajan may not have imagined they would stand a chance to earn a India cap. Chakravarthy had given up cricket and started work as an architect, before being lured back in the sport in 2015; he made his domestic debut as late as in 2018, at 27, played a single match in the 2019 IPL where he was thrashed and duly dropped. In the last season, he picked up 17 wickets in 13 matches, in one of which he bamboozled MS Dhoni. Tewatia too had been fighting for places in the Haryana state team, until his breakthrough IPL 2020 where he shone as an all-rounder – 10 wickets and 255 runs.
Speaking to officials within the BCCI, there was less sympathy for Chakravarthy who wasn’t playing any domestic cricket and had time to meet the fitness standards. In Tewatia’s case, he had to overcome mental and physical fatigue, coming from a spate of domestic matches, when asked to achieve the new targets. Chakravarthy had been working on improving his “throwing” at the NCA which kept him away from playing against Australia. He did make significant progress on that front but remained far from meeting the fitness markers. “Sometimes it’s simply not within your physiological ability to meet the benchmarks, if you haven’t been following the same fitness regimen,” said another fitness personnel from an IPL franchise.
The selectors have now been advised to pick a targeted group of players in the future beforehand, who can undergo fitness tests before being available for selection. They did it the last IPL when the franchises were asked to make a select group of players go through the 2-km time trial. “No franchise was going to agree to exhaust their players and face injury risk, when they are playing a high intensity tournament in a bubble,” said the franchise professional.
Srinivasan sees merit in the 2km run as a fitness benchmark for cricket and finds the current parameters reasonable. “In future, factoring in skill sets, as well as age, may be a good template to follow. Those who are hitting 30’s cannot run as fast as those in early 20’s,” he said.
