T20 WC brand ambassador Yuvraj backs Rohit & Virat in squad
Karthik started the last T20 World Cup in Australia as India’s designated keeper before losing his spot ahead of the team’s semifinal defeat to England.
Ever since Indian run-machine Virat Kohli has taken over as the captain of the national team across all forms of the game, yo-yo test has become a crucial part of the fitness test regime. A few cricketers have even been sidelined only because they failed to get the required score in that test. Somebody like a Ambati Rayudu was dropped from the team before the England tour in 2018 despite his brilliant form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) only because he had failed the yo-yo Test.
The test has thus invited some controversy in the Indian cricket circuit with many veteran players including the likes of Yuvraj Singh claiming that they were dropped despite clearing the tests.
While fitness has always been an important thing for international cricketers, no such test was conducted in the 2000s. Talking about the fitness culture in the team back in the 2000s, Mohammad Kaif said that not many would have cleared the yo-yo test during his playing days.
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“Fitness is very important for cricketers. If we did the Yo-Ye test during our time, Balaji and I could have fulfilled that criteria, even Yuvraj Singh was good. But, I do not think that others would have passed the Yo_Yo test,” Mohammad Kaif said during a live Helo Session on Thursday.
The former Uttar Pradesh skipper hailed Virat Kohli for his contribution to the team and inculcating the fitness culture in the team. He added that the entire team needs to perform if India needs to win ICC tournaments.
“Individually Kohli is a big player, but to win tournaments the whole team should contribute. I hope Kohli will work on this. At the same time, he needs to back his selection and should give proper chances to show their talents,” Kaif added.
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