Zaheer Khan spoke in favour of Yo-yo tets. (Source: File Photo)
“Yo-Yo test is not going anywhere, you pass the test, you play for India,” said Ravi Shastri before the Indian team departed for their England tour and the head coach made his intentions and plans clear about picking up a player. The test has certainly drawn mixed response but as far as the coach and skipper Virat Kohli are concerned, the Yo-yo test will continue to play an important role in the selection process. Former seamer Zaheer Zaheer Khan has backed the test as a fitness criterion while also calling on the fitness team to make it tougher to bring it up to the global standards.
“What I know is that the parameter set by the current Indian team (16.1) is pretty low compared to the world standard. If a player is not even able to achieve that mark, then I believe there is some problem somewhere,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. “Look, for me any parameter is acceptable as long as it is uniformly applied. If the criteria is same for the top most and the junior most cricketer, I have no issues. Obviously, there is focus on skill but this Indian team wants to be a fit unit. Virat and the team management is trying to ensure that for the benefit of the team,” he concluded.
Despite the fact that the mark set by the team management is low, a lot of players have failed to qualify the test. Recently, Ambati Rayudu missed the flight to England after he failed to clear the Yo-yo test while fast bowler Mohammed Shami too was dropped from the limited-overs side for the same reason.
Shami though cleared the test later and is now with the Indian team for the five-match Test series scheduled to begin from August 1 at Edgbaston. If the reports are to be believed, BCCI are contemplating increasing the clearing mark from 16.1 to 16.3 to increase the fitness level of the players.