Reports: Indian cricketers to be dropped on failing yo-yo test

Players of the Indian Cricket Team will have to undergo the Yo-Yo test this weekend, preceding their one-off test against Afghanistan, the test will deem their fitness levels in accordance with the requirement of the modern sport. According to reports in Mirror, it is learned that players who are a part of the Afghanistan Test and limited overs series will have to go through the test.

Following that, the test will be conducted on June 15, that time involving the players bound to travel to the UK later this month for the tours of Ireland and England.

Earlier used as a fitness parameter by personal trainers for monitoring individuals, it has come into fore lately, with India's coach Ravi Shastri making it mandatory to be considered for inclusion in the national squads. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina found themselves on the wrong side of the results last year and were consequently dropped from the one-day international side.

The procedure has often come under scrutiny with athleticism cited as an entirely optional asset for a cricketer, and while that criticism may have a point if you gander a look at the likes of Inzamam ul Haq, or Arjuna Ranatunga, or Virender Sehwag in the more modern age, these players were particularly successful despite having relatively lower fitness levels. But with the game becoming faster and minute moments turning the most decisive one, it is time we accept the yo-yo test as a necessary inculcation into the sport.

Look back to Afghanistan's final T20I against Bangladesh, where the only difference between a victory and a loss for the Afghans was an agile and well-timed leap at the boundary rope to prevent a boundary on the last ball, peak fitness indeed is a mandate in sports of today's age.