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India's captain Rohit Sharma (right), and Virat Kohli celebrate after winning the third one day international cricket match and series against England in Ahmedabad, India. (AP)
India’s One-day International skipper Rohit Sharma, who now plays just one format, will be among the seven players to undergo pre-season fitness test at the Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru. Cricketers who will join Rohit to undertake the Yo-Yo Test will include Test captain Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur. A Dexa Scan, used to test bone density, will also be done as part of the pre-season test and so will blood tests.
However, there is no clarity when Virat Kohli, who like Rohit has retired from T20Is and Test cricket, will undergo the fitness test. This is the first time since announcing his Test retirement in May that Rohit will undergo a fitness test.
The big prize for Rohit, 36, and Kohli, 38 will be the 50-over World Cup at home but that is still two years away.
“All players have to undergo a pre-season fitness Test, it’s mandatory as per the contract. These tests help the COE understand the areas the players have to work on or where they are lacking. As there was a big break (after the England Test series), the players were given sets of exercises to do at home,” a BCCI official said.
India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has already appeared for the fitness test and so has all-rounder Hardik Pandya and spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India opener Sharma had posted on Instagram a picture of him in the gym with the Indian team’s former assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Nayar reposted with the caption: “Let it begin”. Sharma has been training with Nayar since he returned from England earlier this month.
Rohit retired from T20Is after leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup last year and then from Tests ahead of the five-match Test series in England.
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India next play ODIs when they tour Australia in October. The Indian team’s former strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai had spoken to this paper about why these assessment tests matter.
“Look, we take these tests (Yo Yo, sprint, power, Dexa) as part of our assessments. It helps us get an idea about an athlete’s condition. For us as professionals, we are responsible to present benchmarks that are challenging yet achievable after having reviewed the team’s fitness standard,” he had said.
Indian team’s current strength and conditioning coach Adrian le Roux had also recommended the rugby-centric Bronco Test, which according to the BCCI official will be introduced later in the season.
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