Given the long list of injuries Team India are dealing with currently, headlined by Jasprit Bumrah’s latest setback, the Board of Control of India (BCCI) has triggered a fitness overhaul.
The old Yo-Yo test will no longer be the mandatory benchmark and has been replaced by the Bronco Test, with the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) also coming under the scanner after the continuous rise of injuries.
What is a Bronco Test?
This fitness standard, adapted from rugby, involves players sprinting back and forth over distances of 20 meters, 40 meters, and 60 meters, completing one set at a time. Each set covers a total of 240 meters, and participants are required to complete five sets, amounting to a cumulative distance of 1,200 meters. Initially, the time limit for this exercise was six minutes, but it has since been reduced, increasing the challenge. The new rule also means that the BCCI has reduced the Bronco Test’s minimum time. Instead of giving six minutes earlier, players must finish the 1200-meter run in minimum in just 5 minutes and 15 seconds, or 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
Additionally, the time limit for the 2000m run remains 9 to 10 minutes and the players must do it right after the Bronco Test. However, a break will be allowed, given two fitness tests back-to-back are an uphill challenge. A few media reports also claimed that there were some leniency towards the senior players as the standards weren’t strictly enforced, with some getting easier targets. Moreover, reports have also claimed that all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana received clearance from CoE at the management’s request despite not being fully fit. The result was Reddy missed the entire tour of England, while Rana was sent halfway through the tour due to the hamstring injury flaring up again.
Shubman Gill the latest casualty after Jasprit Bumrah’s injury?
With Bumrah’s knee injury ruling him out of both Tests in Sri Lanka, Shubman Gill could become the latest victim of the injury. The Punjab-born cricketer was sidelined for Day 1 of the three-day practice match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI due to a hand injury sustained while batting in the nets. Hence, KL Rahul has been leading the tourists. Gill is currently being monitored.
A series-ending injury to not only the captain but the backbone of Indian batting line-up will be a body blow for them for what is a crucial series in the 2025-27 cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC).