While the bulk of the Indian cricket team assembled at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for their fitness test, Virat Kohli was the lone player who finished his test in London, where he happens to be residing with his family.
Reports suggest that Kohli was given special clearance by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to undergo his fitness test in the UK, while most of his team members visited Bengaluru for the same. Even though Kohli passed the test, the move to have his fitness test done outside the country has triggered a controversy.
Cricket players like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, and others are said to have passed their fitness tests in Bengaluru. Kohli, on the other hand, did his under official guidance in London, as per Dainik Jagran.
A majority of the available players have now gone through their fitness tests, but some are still pending because of injuries or any other reason. The Indian T20I team is also to leave the United Arab Emirates shortly to attend the 2025 Asia Cup. Kohli will not, however, be included in the team since he has retired from T20 internationals.
The report also compiled players who have undergone their fitness tests, both in part and entirety, such as: Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhinav Manohar, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Mukesh Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The tests were conducted on players' yo-yo test results and general strength tests. According to the report, stars like Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to undergo their tests later in this month.
Phase 2 of the fitness tests will feature players like KL Rahul, Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant.
It was also highlighted that Kohli was the only player to take his fitness test abroad, with no other cricketer requesting a similar exemption. When questioned about Kohli’s case, a BCCI official reportedly stated that the legendary cricketer would have sought proper approval for the request. However, the report adds that it remains unclear whether such an exemption could be granted to other players in the future.
With the national team piling up injuries, the BCCI and the team management have become extra cautious while ensuring player fitness. The board has now established a mandatory norm, where all cricketers are required to pass a fitness test before they are considered for any squad.
