People laughed when we made yo-yo test a criteria for selection: Ravi Shastri

If you want to represent Team India, form alone cannot guarantee you a place in the team. Along with form, fitness is as important. And to determine whether you are fit to play for the national team, passing the yo-yo fitness test is a compulsion. Even those who are injury-free are not spared. The test has made headlines every time some big names have failed to pass it. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were not picked for India after failing the yo-yo test.

India have had a great run in the recent past, not only at home but also overseas. They recently won series in Australia and New Zealand, thereby getting rid of the tag of being kings of only the subcontinent. One of the biggest talking points from India’s overseas wins were its pacers, all of whom put up remarkable performances.

Highlighting the role fitness test played in shaping up the Indian pacers, coach Ravi Shastri revealed some selection and non-selection details based on the yo-yo test, “When we mentioned the Yo-Yo test a year ago, people laughed that it was criteria for selection. What they missed was that was a very important part of the selection. You have to first clear that criterion and then, of course, you have batting, bowling and fielding skills to talk to be selected. But you have to pass that test as a benchmark,” Shastri told Cricbuzz exclusively.

Mohammed Shami’s bowling improved after passing the yo-yo test

He also revealed that Mohammed Shami was dropped from the England ODI series because he failed the yo-yo test, but came back as a much-improved player after passing it.

“We dropped Mohammed Shami for failing that test for the England ODIs. He got the kick up his backside he needed, went and trained, and rest is history. No one has performed better than him. If I have to single out one guy after the end of this overseas year, it is him (sic). Because to last and bowl with that intensity – 140 (kph) all the time, whichever format he has played – is a tribute to his fitness. It is an absolute tribute to his fitness, and to the Yo-Yo test.”

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