The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received a mounting number of complaints about the fitness standards of Indian cricketers, prompting them to undertake a significant revamp of cricket’s fitness programme at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), the BCCI has been reported to be doing.
The review follows problems with a number of key players like Jasprit Bumrah being plagued by injuries, not only once, and other issues like Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj bowing out due to changed fitness standards. The lack of standardized fitness benchmarks and the application of customized testing techniques had led to a lack of consistency in fitness testing, it is reported, in internal assessments.
The BCCI recently got rid of the Yo-Yo Test and replaced it with the Bronco Test following the appointment of strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux for the country. According to the official release, the original problem with the Bronco, however, was that there was no uniform qualifying standard; different fitness criteria are used to assign different players to the cup.
Some of the senior players reportedly were given more palatable options while the youngsters like Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy were evaluated with ‘adjusted criteria’ for team management needs.
The review has also reportedly brought to light about the overall athleticism of the Indian team as they have been reported to be lacking in the fielding aspect, mobility and running between the wickets. Senior batters were said to be seen going in and out of it during extended times throughout the game.
The BCCI, by the way, is believed to be unhappy with the fitness guidelines that India’s team physician Kamlesh Jain has been following and the fact that the games have suffered with injuries in any event. The modernized programme should also bring in more uniformity and greater scrutiny to enhance physical conditioning of players and minimise the risk of injury in all formats.