BENGALURU: Be it domestic or international cricket, one cannot stress enough the importance of fitness in the gentleman's game these days. And, just being skilled with bat and ball may not be enough for players to represent Karnataka in the upcoming domestic season.
With the 35-member probables camp having started on Wednesday, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) management has made fitness test a mandatory criteria for players to make it to the final list of 20 players.
Though the players have been playing active cricket for the last two months or so in the local KSCA leagues, this test will help the coaches know where players really stand in terms of fitness.
In fact, the delayed cricket season due to the pandemic has meant that the players were off competitive games for a longer time compared to the past as well.
The domestic season starts with Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy from November 4.
The fitness test will be conducted for all the probables before the selection.
Only those who get through will be eligible for selection. It is important to note that the players had had normal fitness standards with yoyo tests and 2 km run in the last couple of seasons, but it was not mandatory.
"This year the KSCA management has taken a decision to conduct fitness tests for all players for selection. We are working towards it. The fitness tests are on par with the NCA protocol…Yoyo test is 17.1 , 2km: 8 minutes 15 seconds for pacers and 8:30 for the others. We will have the fitness test for all the probables and it is the mandatory criteria for them to make it to the final 20,” said head coach Yere Goud.
Of the 35 players, only 23 are currently in the camp as 12 of them, including two net bowlers in the form of Shubhang Hedge and Kushal Wadhwani are in the IPL in UAE.
At the nets in the KSCA(B) ground, Goud was also keeping a close eye on the batsmen. A video recording of all the batsmen were also taken at the camp, which will be analysed.
“With these 23 players now, we are trying to analyse where they stand as of now. That is the reason we took a batting video of all the players today. Tomorrow we will be doing a bowlers video as well. Most of these players have already played around 8-9 KSCA league matches.” added Goud.
Also, the support staff has decided to have one-on-one interaction with players in due course and try to understand where they want to be before the season starts.