For the last couple of year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been emphasising on the Yo-Yo fitness test for selecting players for any series. The Indian team has set 16.1 as the Yo-Yo test benchmark and player failing to clear the test is not selected.
With the course of time, the existence of this test has become a debatable issue and recently, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has opined his views. One of the fittest cricketers of his time, Kaif stated that the Yo-Yo fitness test cannot be the "sole criteria" for picking players, calling for a more balanced approach in team selection.
“Fitness is important as we have that the fielding standard of the Indian team has improved a lot. But there should be a balanced approach,” Kaif said.
“If a player is scoring runs and taking wickets, dropping him solely on the basis that he could not pass the 'Yo-Yo' is not good,” he added.
The most recent example was Ambati Rayudu, whose national comeback after nearly two years was stalled when he failed to clear the Yo-Yo test despite scoring 600 plus runs in the IPL. Subsequently, Rayudu cleared the fitness test and was picked for the Asia Cup.
“When I was in the team, there was a test (beep test) to know the fitness of the players but never was a player dropped from the team. He would be told that his fitness level was not good and will have to make improvements in the next few months,” Kaif said.