Former Indian cricketer and current team India head coach Ravi Shastri has plans to push the bar in the fitness department for the players, according to reports.
After getting re-appointed as the head coach, Shastri might raise the required mark a cricketer needs to score in the yo-yo test to be eligible to play for the country. A source quoted by Mumbai Mirror said that while the minimum qualification mark was 16.1 earlier, it will be 17 after the revision.
"Fitness is integral to participation at the international level and the minimum qualification will be 17," the source told Mumbai Mirror.
The Men in Blue have been following the internationally accepted test, which is an aerobic endurance training exercise, since 2017. The fitness level of the players has increased drastically after that.
The minimum score of 16.1 was tough enough for some Indian star cricketers, who failed to get the stipulated score for selection in the past. Indian cricketing legend Yuvraj Singh, current pace bowling spearhead Mohammed Shami and Sanju Samson have struggled to pass the test.
But Shastri wants to increase the bar for the cricketers as the game is getting increasingly competitive day by day. According to reports, he will hold a meeting in the coming days to discuss the same.
The Men in Blue are going to face South Africa in a three-match T20 and Test series. The first T20 fixture is slated for September 15 in Dharamsala. Team India currently are at the top of the ICC World Test Championship points table, with 120 points.
In the recently concluded Caribbean tour, India dominated the West Indies in all the formats and did not lose even a single match.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah were in tremendous form throughout the tour. Kohli broke many individual batting records and also became the most successful Test captain of India. Kohli surpassed Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record of 27 Test wins to achieve the feat.
In the T20 series against South Africa, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be back in the squad after he was rested during the West Indies tour post the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
