Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to undergo fitness test in Bengaluru after 13-day training program

Senior Indian men's cricketers, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, will undergo a fitness test during the team's five-day camp in Alur, Bengaluru. Those who don't meet the fitness standards will be pulled up by the BCCI.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the National Cricket Academy's (NCA) physiotherapists and trainers prepared a 13-day program for players who were rested after India's tour of the West Indies. The players are Kohli, Rohit, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, and fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.

"This is a special programme designed for players as we want them fit for the next two months. The trainer will come to know who has followed the programme and who hasn’t. The team management will then take a call on what to do with players who have not followed their programme,” a BCCI official told the newspaper.

The fitness program was divided into two parts from August 9 to 22, with a rest day in between.

It focused on "strength and mobility, shoulder care, and glute muscles", according to the report. It included instructions on protein in the diet, gym sessions, yoga, massage, walking, running, and swimming.

Each player was advised to do a few technical drills and also get nine hours of sleep. Having already been troubled by injuries to a few key players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah in the leadup to the World Cup, the BCCI doesn't want to take any chances less than two months before the World Cup.

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Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma reach Bengaluru

Most of the aforementioned have already reached Bengaluru. Apart from the fitness test, they'll also undergo a full body examination, including blood.

The Asia Cup 2023 squad members currently in Ireland, where they played a three-T20I series—Bumrah, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna—will join the camp on August 25.