Right after Virat Kohli took over as team India’s captain from MS Dhoni, fitness of players has become the most important criteria for the selection in all three formats. However, the axing of Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson and Mohammed Shami proves Indian players are still way behind on fitness front.
It is noteworthy that Other countries like West Indies and Pakistan set higher yo-yo test benchmarks for their players. That even the 16.1 score wasn’t met by the likes of Mohammed Shami, Sanju Samson and Ambati Rayudu says far more about those individuals than it does about the team management.
During the World Twenty20 semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in 2016, India, with the notable exception of the brilliant and thoroughly modern Virat Kohli, tried to ‘build’ an innings, a notion that has been made utterly passé by the West Indies’ phalanx of heavy hitters. Lendl Simmons, Johnson Charles and Andre Russell dealt in fours and sixes. Where India tried to pace themselves, West Indies just nailed the pedal to the floor.
The difference was as stark on the field. Russell and friends are superb athletes, and even the big men like Carlos Brathwaite prowled the outfield like jaguars. India dropped catches, bowled no-balls, missed with throws, and generally undid all the sterling work Kohli had done with the bat.
The situation has remained the same, even if Virat Kohli has made it compulsory for everyone to pass Yo-Yo test for the selection.
India have two global tournaments coming up in the next two years – the World Cup in England (2019) and the World Twenty20 in Australia (2020). Even though they haven’t won anything since the Champions Trophy in 2013, With Kohli now in his prime, the two upcoming tournaments offer a great chance to remedy that.
However, For that to happen, everyone needs to sing from the same sheet as the skipper, whose commitment to fitness and excellence is nothing short of extraordinary. Shorter formats of the game, for all the recent dominance of spin bowling, have become primarily about power and athleticism, two areas where India have usually lagged behind.
