Indian team management to decide whether Yo-Yo test results are to be made public or not, says CoA chief Vinod Rai

Of late, Yo-Yo tests have become a hot topic in the Indian cricket fraternity. After three Indian cricketers — Sanju Samson, Mohammed Shami and Ambati Rayudu — were dropped for failing in the Yo-Yo tests, there have been many opinions drawn on why these tests are becoming parameter for selection in the national squad and how players’ form has become less important. There are also calls being made to make the results of this test public so that the transparency is maintained. [caption id=“attachment_4451351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of CoA chief Vinod Rai. AFP[/caption] However, CoA chief Vinod Rai said that revealing the results of the Yo-Yo tests is not in his hands but the team management. Speaking to Cricketnext, he was quoted as saying, “See, that is for the team management to decide if they wish to release the results of the test conducted on the players. It is not my domain and I don’t wish to get into that.” Earlier, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry had written a letter to Rai, asking about the turn of events which led to Yo-Yo tests becoming a parameter for selection in the Indian team. A portion of the letter read, “At which forum was the decision taken to have a minimum score on the Yo-Yo test as a prerequisite for selection into a BCCI-selected team? Who all were present in the meeting that decided this? Have minutes been recorded of the said meeting? If the player has had an increased workload in the past few weeks and is somewhat fatigued, would he not be scoring less on the recovery tests?” Taking note of the letter, Rai asked General Manager Cricket Operations Saba Karim to give a presentation on how the test functions. However, Rai declined that it was a presentation. He said, “It wasn’t really a presentation. It was an internal discussion and not something I wish to talk about.” What makes the whole scenario even more interesting is Indian head coach Ravi Shastri’s statement before leaving for Ireland. He had said, “The philosophy regarding the Yo-Yo test is very simple. You pass you play. You fail, you sail. Whosoever thinks that it is a one-off thing can take a walk. It is not going to go anywhere. The captain leads from the front, the selectors and the entire team management are on the same page.” Not surprising that Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is on the same page. As per Kohli, fitness remains the most important thing, especially when the team is travelling abroad to play. He had said, “People might not be able to see a small thing that happens when you play a particular Test match but I think that makes a massive difference. We are a team that wants to travel well. Jasprit Bumrah was bowling 144 kmph in his last spell during the final Test. That’s when one’s fitness comes in. When you have people who are fit, hungry and ready, then you are not only competing but also winning matches.” “Either you get emotional and let go (chuck) a policy, or take hard calls and move ahead with the system. All those things have come together nicely and we are looking forward towards playing some real hard cricket. We are looking forward towards playing difficult cricket as that’s the only way we will be able to test our self as a team,” he concluded.