Team India’s struggle in the international arena is irking the Board. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is apparently keen on reviving the old regulations regarding fitness tests in the days of Virat Kohli’s captaincy. The board had previously scrapped the rule on the mandatory yo yo fitness test as it was overwhelming, considering the workload and frequency of travel of these players. Whether or not the U-turn due to the report over the return of the rule will be enacted is yet to be seen.
As said by the Times of India, the BCCI medical team has been asked to revert back to fitness criteria for selection and not restrict their focus only to preventing injuries in the grueling schedule. Yo-yo test mandates were removed by the earlier management to keep a lid on injuries, but a possibility of the U-turn can be expected now.
“While the board has been lenient towards the players owing to players being majorly on the road, the focus had since shifted to just injury prevention. A number of players have taken advantage of it. So, it was discussed to reintroduce a particular fitness level criteria to completely refrain from artist complacency,” the paper quoted the source.
BCCI also plans some more changes in the functioning of the team, one of them being the restriction on stay of family members and wives of players.
According to officials, the presence of families, particularly during overseas assignments of the Indian team, may be detrimental to players’ concentration and performance. Further, the BCCI has enforced that henceforth players will travel with the team at any time.