Cricketing fitness more important than yo-yo test results, asserts Kapil Dev
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Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has stated that cricketing fitness should be the prime factor when considering players for the selection into the team. The Indian management now uses the yo-yo test as the gold standard to assess the players for their match fitness on which he made the comment.
One of the more respected voice in Indian cricket - Kapil Dev - said that having yo-yo test as a
âI think itâs important to keep a level of fitness but in my mind, cricketing fitness is more important than anything else and it is different from Yo-Yo tests,â Kapil told The Hindu on the sidelines of his
The former
âIf you are not a good athlete but if you have good cricketing sense and use yourself best for the benefit of the team, thatâs more important.
â If I say (Ravichandran) Ashwin is not a 100 % athlete but a 100 % performer of the game, can you really say he is not good enough if he doesnât pass the Test? Same with (Saurav) Ganguly. He wasnât one of the best athletes but he was one of the best captains we have had,â Kapil said.
After a scintillating debut by Prithvi Shaw, many cricket critics started comparing the young teenager to the stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. But the
âI only say that we should not put pressure on young kids, donât compare so early. Tomorrow when Prithvi (Shaw) comes out and we say heâs the next Sachin Tendulkar, his natural talent will go out, donât do that.
âLet them play over a period of time â 7-8 years â and you will come to know whoâs what because by then a player is mature enough. Pandya is a very good cricketer, very talented but he has to perform,â he signed off.