Importance of the yo-yo test?

IS YO-YO TEST REALLY NEEDED FOR CRICKET?

It was the Indian home series against Australia in 2017 when BCCI announced that from now on every player has to pass the yo-yo test if he has to book his spot in the Indian team. So, now form is not the only factor which will determine if a player will be selected for the next campaign. First, let’s get introduced to the yo-yo test. The yo-yo test was developed in New Zealand to measure the recovery time needed for athletes after different levels of workout. So, there are 3 points around which this test goes around. The first point is the starting point and the 2^nd point is placed 20m away from the 1^st point. The 3^rd point is placed behind the 1^st point in the opposite direction of the 3^rd point. So in the test the athlete has to start from point 1 at the sound of a beep and then reach the 2^nd point before the sound of another beep. Then another beep means that the athlete has to return back to the point 1. The next beep means that the athlete has to walk in between the distance of point 1 and 3. This completes one round of the yo-yo test. So there are two levels and each level consists of different amount of sets of which BCCI has set 16.1 as the benchmark for the Indian cricketers if they want themselves to get selected in the team. After this becoming a compulsory procedure to go through for the cricketers, some big names such as Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina couldn’t pass the test and hence were not selected. Recently Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson and Mohammad Shami were denied by the yo-yo test to make it to the team for the England tour. This opened the gate for all the critics asking if there is really a need for yo-yo test for cricket. Let’s check both the positive as well as the negative side of the yo-yo test.

Now this yo- yo test is clearly to measure one’s recovery time which is kind of similar to a cricket match’s situation. For example a bowler sprints and bowls a delivery and then gets a recovery time of around 20 seconds while going back to his mark to bowl the next ball. So here the bowler goes through an activity gets some time to recover and then has to perform again which is similar to how the yo yo test works. This similarity is present in the fielding and batting department as well. If the ball is approaching towards a fielder then he has to cover a certain distance so that he can take a catch or field the ball and throw to the crease. The time gap between the fielder throwing and the next ball bowled is the recovery time for the fielder. Also nowadays if a player has to play all the formats of the game then he has to maintain a certain amount of fitness level. The yo-yo score which India has set that is 16.1 is quite low when compared to countries like New Zealand and Australia. So, these are the reasons which could have inclined BCCI to make the yo-yo test as a compulsory procedure.

But on the other side there have been a lot of experts and former cricketers questioning about the importance given to the yo-yo test in the selection procedure. According to them a cricketer may of course have a minimum level of fitness but also his form and experience must be given importance. Even if a player has a good amount of experience and is playing well in the recent times it is necessary for him to pass the yo-yo test or else he will not be a part of the team. A player’s skill has to be given the 1^st priority and his form too as that will play a major part in influencing his performance in a particular match or a tour. For example Ambati Rayudu was in the form of his life in the recent edition of the Indian Premiere League for CSK and has a good amount of experience playing with the Mumbai Indians as well. He has also been part of the Indian national set up for some series against Zimbawe and Srilanka. Along with KL Rahul he was also expected to be a part of the Indian team for the Ireland and England tour but because he couldn’t pass the yo-yo test he had to remain in India that is out of the Indian team. Here the argument is that he played very well in the Indian Premiere League where there is no yo-yo test procedure to make it to the team, so if he can do that in IPL he can surely replicate the same in internationals as well even if he doesn’t pass the yo-yo test. The same argument goes for Sanju Samson and Mohammad Shami as well that too Mohammad Shami was a part of the squad which toured England last time in 2014. So, he would have brought in valuable experiences and learnings from the last tour which could have played a vital role in this year’s tour. But finally it is the BCCI who takes the call and has made the yo-yo test compulsory to set a standard for the fitness requirement in the national cricket team. Ending it with a fact that in this test where BCCI has kept 16.1 as the par score, the Indian captain Virat Kohli records upto 21.1 and well it shouldn’t be surprising.