I vividly remember
this guy who made his debut against England in Dec 1984 – the bowling lineup
missing Kapil Dev read, Chetan Sharma, Manoj Prabhakar, Ravi Shastri, Roger
Binny and Rajinder Sing Ghai. Alongside
Ghai, Kiran More, R Robinson and Richard Ellison also made their debuts. Rajinder Singh Ghai was one of several new
ball bowlers tried out to supplement the seam attack in the mid eighties when
the one day game became fashionable in India following the World Cup triumph.
After the not so
good initial match against Andhra in Ranji, comes the news that – ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is out of
the side for the ongoing Australia series, headed to Bengaluru for the Yo-Yo
test ! The off-spinner wrote on his
Twitter feed that he had got through the test, which is now a must to play for
India. " Ashwin had said earlier that he was ready for
the Yo-Yo test. "I am a man for systems and any system put in place, I
would strive my level best to try and match up to it. Every leader has his own
vision of how to bring the team about. This is the vision of the current leadership
group and it's important to respect it," Ashwin had said.
Sometime back, Sri
Lanka Cricket (SLC) suspended Danushka Gunathilaka for six white-ball matches
for misconduct. This is why the opening batsman was omitted from Sri Lanka's
squad for the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE. He was also fined. ESPNcricinfo
reported that Gunathilaka missed a
training session, turned up to a match without his gear, and was generally
found to have had an indifferent attitude towards training - all during Sri
Lanka's recent home series against India. One other player had also been pulled
up about his off-field behaviour, but has received only a warning, as unlike
Gunathilaka, SLC believed he had displayed full commitment to training and
matches.
Australians
and South Africans are supremely fit ~
the same cannot be said of Asian teams Pak, India, Bangladesh and Srilanka – we
have had Inzie, Vengsarkar, Arjuna Ranatunga, Rohit and more ~ oozing with
natural talent… is the outlook changing !!
Every cricketer —
not just those who play the energy intensive shorter versions, but even Test
cricketers — will now need to have a basic level of aerobic endurance
prescribed by the Indian team management. According to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri,
even if a cricketer happens to be injury-free and in form, failure to meet the
mandatory fitness parameters would result in him making way for a fitter
player. “The captain, coach and chief selector, along with the other members of
the selection committee in consultation with the support staff (trainer and
physio), have set the parameters. The fitness parameters set by the team
management for athletes to be eligible for selection are non-negotiable,” Johri
told The Indian Express. He said that the present set of players — who were
part of India’s limited overs series against Sri Lanka and those involved in
the ongoing home series against Australia — had all cleared the first of the
management-approved parameters: the yo-yo test, the
globally-recognised cardio drill for international athletes.
It is the dreaded
test ‘Yo-Yo’ that tests the players capabilities and not their talents – the test
requires players to pace themselves methodically — starting with a modest jog
to the eventual gut-busting sprint — as they shuttle back and forth between two
rows of cones kept 20 metres apart. Each run needs to be timed with the three
beeps that are played in the background. These are the signals for start, turn
and finish. With the timing between the beeps constantly decreasing, each
subsequent 40m circuit requires more speed. Getting beaten twice by the beep
means the end of the test. The final score is determined by the laps completed
and the speed gathered.
It is stated that
for starters, the Indian cricketers have been asked to achieve a basic score,
but gradually the fitness bar will be raised. “On the yo-yo scale, the grade
needed to be achieved is 16.1, which is the minimum standard set for an elite
international sportsman. The players have been informed of such parameters and
most current players have already achieved this standard. In case of any
exceptions, we’ve given them sufficient time to raise their fitness levels.”
A former
member of the Indian coaching staff said the team management should keep in
mind that aerobic endurance can’t be the only criterion for selection. “The
yo-yo test can’t be the only criterion to test a cricketer’s fitness. It’s a
skill-based sport. There’s so much mental stamina that’s required too,” he
said, adding that many of the past legends would have failed the test. True can one imagine putting the likes of
Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Bedi, Gundappa Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Ashok Malhotra
and more going through this – is it not he talent that is material ?
A web search
reveals that in general, there are two different versions of the Yo-Yo tests
(the intermittent endurance (YYIET) and the intermittent recovery test
(YYIRT)), each having two different levels (level 1 and 2). As a result there
are a total of four different tests. Media reports suggested that veteran
cricketer, Yuvraj Singh and left-handed batsman, Suresh Raina were left out of
the Indian ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour due to a failed yo-yo test ! though
there were some denials too.. ..
So is fitness the
ultimate key – a player may make runs a plenty or take bagful of wickets but if he fails the Yo-Yo fitness test, will
he not be picked in the Indian team. In that sense, would not Yo-Yo change the
dynamics of selection, alter the manner the player’s capabilities are
judged. Is it fitness or talent which is
most important ?
The BCCI has set
16.1 as the benchmark score to clear Yo-Yo. Soon, we could have the bar raised
to 17.5. In countries such as Australia, the mark is around 20. It is not only
Suresh Raina and Yuvraj who fell by the
way side. Reports suggest that promising
off-spinning all-rounder M.S. Washington Sundar was all but selected in the
Indian team for the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia before
falling to Yo-Yo. He scored 15.7 in the test conducted at NCA; he is still not
18 years of age!
"His idea of a
fitness program was a bit of pig shooting, a bit of fishing. Running around the
oval wasn't one of his high priorities. But he was happy to bowl all day"
Greg Chappen once wrote on legendary pacer Jeff Thomson.
Ashish
Nehra’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the tree-match Twenty20 series
against Australia may have surprised many, mainly because of his age. A
38-year-old fast bowler in T20 Internationals is seldom heard of. But his
friend and former teammate Virender Sehwag revealed, on-field fitness is not a
concern for the veteran, in fact his score on the “yo-yo” endurance test is on
par with that of Virat Kohli, arguably one of the fittest cricketers in the
world.
A couple
of decades ago, was present at Chepauk stadium eagerly watching the Indian
Cricketers train .. .. Dilip Vengsarkar came out did a little bit of stretch
near the pavilion barriers and was standing with hands on hips [he perhaps had
the easiest of stance at crease and made runs with elan]; Sunil Gavaskar walked
around talking to people and practicing mock drives; spinners were rotating
their arms – Kapil Dev captured attraction with his exercise drills, then went
running around the ground as hundreds of us cheered him as he got closer –
alongside Rajinder Singh Ghai ran so easily and tirelessly for 6 or 7 rounds of
the stadium – we all spoke about his attitude and stamina – he was to play in
only 6 one dayers making a solitary run and 3 wickets in all.
Judge the
players by their talent and how they have performed against International teams
~ not merely by how fit they are !!
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
13th Oct 2o17
