CHENNAI: The Yo-Yo test, a bone of contention between the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and BCCI administrators, has spilled on to the cricket field. The back injury to pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has once again stoked a controversy.
“How was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s long-standing back injury not picked up by the team physio and trainer, despite having advanced fitness mechanisms in place?” a senior BCCI official asked, after it emerged that the pacer would be out for at least the first three Tests against England beginning on August 1.
On Tuesday, Bhuvneshwar was included in the playing XI for the third ODI against England and a day later when the selectors named the Test squad, he was omitted from the side with a BCCI statement reading: “Bhuvneshwar Kumar aggravated a lower back condition in the 3rd ODI against England. His condition is being assessed by the BCCI medical team and a call on his inclusion in the squad will be made soon.”
This has led to BCCI officials questioning the fitness protocals, especially the Yo-Yo test, which has been considered as the be-all, end-all for selection. “This is the same injury that has been troubling Bhuvneshwar since the IPL. Since then he underwent multiple fitness tests, including Yo-Yo before departing for England. If those tests didn’t show the nature of his injury, then why is the Yo-Yo test being made mandatory for selection? The team claims he aggravated the injury, which means they risked his injury and played him in third ODI despite not being fully fit,” the official said.
Even last month, when Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami and Sanju Samson failed the fitness test, the office-bearers questioned the CoA as to when and why the Yo-Yo test had been made a selection parameter. It is learnt that secretary Amitabh Choudhary is set to ask a report from manager and head coach Ravi Shastri over the manner in which Bhuvneshwar’s injury was treated by physio Patrick Farhart and trainer Shankar Basu.
37-team Ranji Trophy
The inclusion of all North Eastern states has forced BCCI to schedule an unprecedented 2017 domestic matches and a record 37 teams will take part in the Ranji Trophy this year