The Yo-Yo test is mandatory if one wants to play for India. The players have been told to pass the test in order to stand any chance of playing for the country. Since Virat Kohli’s appointment as India skipper, the focus has shifted back to fitness. However, many former cricketers have criticized this practice.
Some veteran players such as Yuvraj Singh, Ambati Rayudu and Mohammed Shami were dropped from the team after failing to clear the Yo-Yo test.
When Hindustan Times asked former skipper and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly to comment on the issue of the fitness test, he said, “Every team management should have the freedom to make its own decisions. If Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri and the trainers feel that’s the way, so be it. We don’t need to poke our noses all the time. If they demand, the captain of the India team and trainers demand that we need to be at this (fitness) level, so be it.”
“If you want to do it with the senior team, might as well do it when you are young. It makes it a lot easier,” added the veteran.