In past one year or so, the Indian team management has a new found obsession with the Yo-Yo test as they even set it as the benchmark to find a place in the national squad. Despite the strict fitness routine, the aggravated injuries of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha raised a big question mark on the support staff led by trainer Shankar Basu – a keen advocate of the Yo-Yo test. More than Saha’s shoulder injury, it is Kumar’s back injury that has raised eyebrows on the Indian support staff and its understanding of injury management.

However, the Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun should also be made responsible for the series of incidents as he is expected to keep a close eye on the workload of his bowlers. But then, how did Arun wasn’t aware of the consequence of playing Bhuvi in the third ODI with five Tests round the corner? 

Considering the fact that Bhuvneshwar passed the Yo-Yo test before boarding the flight to the UK, still, it can be pointed out that trainers failed to correctly gauge the status of his back injury at the NCA as he had been troubled by the lower-back injury during the 11th season of IPL. Also, with the BCCI asking Sunrisers Hyderabad to manage his workload, it is clear that the injury had been bothering the fast bowler for a decent amount of time, which clarifies that it was next to impossible to judge his fitness only with the Yo-Yo test.

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The former India bowling coach, Eric Simons said that while the Yo-Yo test was a good tool to measure the fitness levels of a player, it couldn’t be the benchmark for selection. As quoted in Cricketnext, he said, “Yo-Yo has its place as a measuring tool, but needs to be used in conjunction with other tests to ensure functional fitness and strength is being built. It also is a uniform way to see where the squad is and to build a history of a particular player so that you can see if fitness is improving or dropping over a period of time.”

Simmons was the Indian coach when they ruled the Test arena under MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten in 2010 and he said using the test as a guide was in his opinion a better option as a lot of things determine the results of the test. He added, “I do feel it is a useful guide and most importantly in a world where you are dealing with competitive natures, a way to subtly encourage training because guys have a natural tendency to want to improve and beat others.”

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With BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry questioning the logic behind making the Yo-Yo test compulsory on mail to the decision-makers, an answer to which is still to be received, India chief coach Ravi Shastri made it clear before the tour of England that under the Kohli regime, the test is here to stay.

It will be interesting to see if, despite the recent turn of events related to the players’ injuries, Yo-Yo continues to remain an integral part of the Indian cricket team’s fitness plans or not.