As per reports, the reason behind Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failing to get selected in India’s ODI squad for upcoming series against Sri Lanka was the ‘Yo-Yo’ endurance Test at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore. The procedure is quite regular and players have to go through this particular fitness test to get selected in the team.
What is Yo-Yo test?
Yo-Yo Test is a fitness Test where cones are placed to mark out two lines 20 meters apart. Players run as in when instructed and are supposed to listen to the automated beeps carefully and turn between the cones while running between the 20 meters line.
The test is deemed hard as it pushes the player’s limits. If the player fails to reach the line in time, they are given an extended chance where they have to reach within the next two beeps. If the player is not able to meet with the pace, the test is stopped. This is not just used for cricket but hockey and football as well in order to determine the fitness of a player.
What is the par Yo-Yo score?
Yuvraj and Raina failed to reach the par ‘Yo-Yo’ score of 19.5 by a big margin. Yuvraj could only score 16 which was the reason behind him not being considered for the ODI squad. On the other hand, skipper Virat Kohli had scored 21 in the Yo-Yo test, setting a benchmark for other players.
What the officials had to say?
“The current team think tank, coach Ravi Shastri, skipper Virat Kohli and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad have made it clear that fitness standards are non-negotiable,” a BCCI official, who cannot come on record, told PTI on August 16.
“On an average, the Australian cricketers score 21 in Yo-Yo test. Here Virat, Ravindra Jadeja, Manish Pandey regularly hit that score while others are either touching 19.5 or is hitting above that score,”
“In an earlier era, when the traditional beep test was in vogue, the Indian players of the 1990’s would have scored around 16 to 16.5 barring a few like Mohammed Azharuddin, Robin Singh or Ajay Jadeja. But now it’s different as the skipper himself is hitting the benchmark, which the Australian cricket team sets it,” the official added.
