India allrounder and Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya had a bowl and passed the yo-yo test. BCCI made it mandatory for players to undergo fitness tests before joining their IPL teams.
Hardik Pandya Clears Fitness Tests
The BCCI is checking on all its centrally contracted players injured or otherwise — before the IPL and Pandya’s performance during his two days at the NCA, can also be seen as a good sign for Indian cricket.
“Let’s make it clear. Fitness test clearance is only for those who are coming back from injury. In the case of Hardik, it was about getting a general fitness assessment going into the gruelling IPL season,” the BCCI source said. “He is an asset and one needed to check his current fitness standards.
Despite not being asked to bowl Pandya “insisted” on it to show that he is on track to make a comeback into the Indian team.
“He didn’t need to bowl at NCA but he has bowled for a considerable time and in the range of 135 kmph. On the second day, he crossed the yo-yo test with flying colours with a 17-plus score, which is much above the cut-off level.”
What is Yo-Yo Test in cricket?
The Yo-Yo test is a running aerobic fitness test, where a player is required to ‘shuttle’ between two cones that are placed 20 meters apart. He/she is supposed to commence on the sound of a beep and has to scamper through to the cone ahead before the second beep.
The player then turns back and completes what is known as one ‘shuttle’ before the third beep sound, with a ten-second recovery period between each shuttle.
With level 23 being the highest, the player begins with level 5 which comprises one shuttle. Next is level 9 (one shuttle), then level 11 (two shuttles), level 12 (three shuttles), level 13 (four shuttles), and finally 8 shuttles each from Level 14 onwards. Each shuttle covers a distance of 40 meters.
As the player moves up each level, the time available to complete each shuttle keeps on decreasing, thereby making it challenging to achieve the qualifying score.
