Off-spinning all-rounder R. Ashwin has, according to sources, cleared the Yo-Yo fitness test, that has been made mandatory for all cricketers ahead of India selection.
Ashwin tweeted on Wednesday that Yo-Yo had been “done and dusted.” It is understood that he cleared the benchmark score of 16.1 with relative ease.
Interestingly, Ashwin travelled to NCA at Bengaluru on Tuesday, the day after the Ranji Trophy game against Andhra in Chennai concluded, for this endurance and speed assessment.
He has been training hard and in a conversation during the Ranji match sounded confident about his fitness levels. Ashwin had the belief to go for Yo-Yo so soon after the game when he could have been a tad tired physically and mentally.
Ashwin getting through this rather brutal physical examination means he will be available for the ODI series against New Zealand, beginning Oct. 22, and then the Test series versus Sri Lanka, starting November 16.
While he is an automatic choice for Tests, it remains to be seen if Ashwin is given another opportunity in the ODIs considering wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal had impressed against Australia.
Ashwin has said he had done little wrong in this format and the official line from selection panel chief M.S.K. Prasad and India coach Ravi Shastri is that the star all-rounder has been ‘rested’ and not ‘dropped.’
There is a belief that India, despite the promise and potential of the wrist spinners, will need the experience and reliability of a finger spinner, particularly in the crunch games of a big competition.
The Yo-Yo test has generated considerable heat in recent times with experienced seniors Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina coming up short.
Ashwin, though, appears to have cleared the hurdle.