YO-YO FITNESS TEST IN CRICKET IN INDIA

Yo-Yo test is a fitness test developed by a Danish Soccer physiologist Jens Bangsbo. It is a part of the fitness tests in the soccer teams of most of the European countries. Still, it is not a new thing to cricket as Australia, New Zealand and English cricket teams already has the Yo-Yo endurance test in their fitness. Now Yo-Yo fitness test has started in India in cricket. It is used to find the fitness of the players. Passing the test has been made mandatory by the current Indian cricket team.

Some of the Indian cricket players like Ambati Raydu, Sanju Samson etc are fail in this Yo-Yo test. Earlier Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were also failed in this test but after that they passed this test.

What is Yo-Yo test ?

. The yo-yo test involves running between two points set 20 metres apart. The runs are synchronised with a software which beeps at set intervals. These intervals between beeps gradually shorten, thereby forcing the runner to increase speed.

 Three cones - say A, B and C - are put in place ahead of the test. A and B are five metres apart, C is kept at a distance of 20 metres from B. The player has to shuttle between B and C at full pace while a pre-recorded beep is being played in the background.

Once the test starts, the player runs from B to C and then back from C to B. Once the player is back at point B, he has to walk towards point A and come back towards point B within the stipulated time for the next shuttle. The distance between B and A gives the player recovery time before the next run. As the test goes on, the time between the beeps is decreased after every shuttle and the player is forced to increase his speed.

When the test starts, the player has approximately 14.4 seconds to cover the 40 meter distance running between B and C and then has a ten-second recovery time before his next shuttle. And that's what makes the test even more grueling. If a player has reached Stage 21 of the Test, then he'll have just eight seconds to run 40 meters and will be expected to run at a speed of 18kph if he has to reach the cones in time.

Teams have different speed levels as qualifying marks. India have set 16:1 as the qualifying speed level, which means it is mandatory for their players to finish the first shuttle of speed level 16, which in terms of accumulated distance is 1120 metres. Pakistan's minimum level is now 17:4; West Indies are at 19, and New Zealand probably have the highest level, 20:1.