The Board of Cricket Council of India (BCCI) finally convened on Sunday after India’s elimination from the T20 World Cup semi-finals. Following the discussion, the board resolved to reinstate the Yo-Yo fitness test as a selection criterion for the Indian cricket team.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, president Roger Binny, captain Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid, NCA chief VVS Laxman, and selector Chetan Sharma all attended the meeting.
The Yo-Yo test is an endurance fitness test that involves running at escalating speeds between markers placed 20 meters apart. When Virat Kohli took over as captain of the Indian cricket team, the test was established with a qualifying score of 16.1, which was eventually upgraded to 16.5.
The Yo-Yo test, the Dexa (bone scan test) is now part of the selection criteria
The meeting also made some critical decisions about the future composition of the Indian cricket team, deciding that young players who prefer white ball cricket for IPL riches over red-ball cricket will be forced to play a “substantial domestic season” to be eligible for national selection.
Following the Indian cricket team’s World Cup failure, the whole selection panel was fired. Chetan Sharma (a member of the fired panel) did, however, attend the meeting. He reapplied for the position alongside Harvinder Singh, another member of the fired panel.
The meeting also covered the road map for the 2023 World Cup at home. “The issues of player availability, workload management, and fitness parameters were also discussed at length during the meeting along with the roadmap to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023,” the statement read.
Ramji Srinivasan, the former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013, stated that the Dexa scan tests were something he recommended to the BCCI and the NCA in 2011 due to the overall increase in the number of matches played in a year.
Trainers are able to measure body fat percentage, lean muscle mass, water content, and bone density using Dexa scans.
“It helps you understand where the fat is and whether the training methods are yielding the result. It is all linked to a cycle. It is part of testing protocols that should have become mandatory long back. Some teams have been doing this for 10 years. It is a fool-proof method. Skinfold can be manipulated and each time different results can show up. But with Dexa it will be uniform and the data will be used for the future as well,” Ramji said.
What is Dexa Scan test
The BCCI is believed to have adopted a more scientific approach in response to select players concealing niggles and returning from ailments. This will not only put the onus on the players, but will also require accountability from the trainers.
“For example, the fat content has to be less than 10 percent. If it is in 10-12, you are borderline fit. Football players are between 5-8 percent but cricketers can stretch it to 10. Less fat means more muscle mass and it can give you more strength, power, speed, agility and less tension on the joints, less stress on muscles. This way you can prevent back and knee injuries,” Ramji continued.
In addition, Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a back issue, while Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out due to a knee injury. With a more personalized strategy in place, each player will now have his or her own routine, food program, and training approach to follow based on the results of the Dexa scan.
“Each player has his own program is the way to go. It was the case earlier too,” Ramji said. “What suits one player may not suit the other and it needs to be different and customized and that is one way of preventing injuries.”
Whether it was the T20 World Cup in 2021 or the most recent edition in November 2022, India took the field without its main players, and it had a significant impact. As a result of last-minute adjustments, India was missing Bumrah and Jadeja, two players who would have immediately stepped into the playing XI. It meant that India had to go back to Shami, who had not even been considered for the T20 World Cup until September for the event in October-November.
Then, more recently, there have been reports of players routinely collapsing owing to fitness-related injuries. Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar are two examples of players that missed significant amounts of time last year due to injury at various stages. After failing to win an ICC championship since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, the BCCI has shifted its focus to the 50-over World Cup, which will be held in India.
Failure to win the World Cup on home soil will be viewed negatively by a team with a deep talent pool and the glitz of the IPL. In that context, India is conscious that in order to put together a winning combination, they must have a completely fit team available, and therefore they appear to have hit the action button by bringing in the Yo-Yo test and the Dexa scan testing.