The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly instructed Indian men’s team physiotherapist Kamlesh Jain to raise concerns over any player’s fitness without being influenced by the player’s stature or reputation. The directive came after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia reportedly questioned Jain following India’s recent run of injuries, which has often left the team without several first-choice players.
According to a report by The Times of India, the BCCI has found that different fitness standards were being applied to different players, with some senior cricketers reportedly being given easier targets to clear fitness tests.
Following the appointment of strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux, the Bronco Test has replaced the Yo-Yo Test as the primary benchmark for assessing player fitness.
“Indian players are not used to the Bronco Test,” a BCCI source told the publication. “Over the last year, the Centre of Excellence (CoE) had set different baseline parameters for players. It has now emerged that certain senior players were given much easier targets to clear the fitness tests.”
The report further claimed that the Centre of Excellence staff cleared players such as Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy to meet the team management’s immediate requirements.
“The CoE staff had also cleared players like Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy to ensure it was delivering players according to the team management’s needs,” the source added.
The BCCI is also reportedly concerned about the fielding standards and mobility of several players. According to the report, some senior batters have struggled to maintain intensity while running between the wickets after spending long periods at the crease, while the overall number of slow fielders in the team has increased.
“Kamlesh has been told not to worry about any player’s stature and to flag anything he is not satisfied with. The mobility of some players in the field has been questionable. Senior batters are struggling to maintain their running between the wickets after batting for long periods, and the number of slow fielders has increased,” the source said.
The report also stated that many of India’s Test regulars are still unfamiliar with the new fitness programme introduced at the Centre of Excellence and were reportedly caught off guard by the intensity of the new drills.
