Yo-Yo test was conducted after team selection because of IPL, reveals Saba Karim

The Indian cricket team, that was named in the squad for the upcoming tours to Ireland and England, underwent the BCCI-mandated yo-yo test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Big names like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar appeared for the test and successfully cleared it as well.

However, many people criticised the BCCI’s decision to conduct the fitness test after they named the squad saying they should have done it before revealing the initial squad. Saba Karim, BCCI general manager for cricket operations, cleared the confusion surrounding this topic as he revealed that this was a one-off incident that occured due to the IPL this year.

"It's (yo-yo test) always conducted before team selection. This time the change happened because of the IPL," Karim was quoted as speaking to the The Indian Express. "We have to pick the teams early because of logistical reasons, so we couldn't drag out players during the IPL and make them go through fitness tests. That's why we conducted it after the IPL was over. And all the players were given enough time to prepare for that," Karim told Cricbuzz.

The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson, and Mohammed Shami all failed their respective test’s this year which further put pressure on the BCCI to clarify the selection process. But Karim was adamant that the players were notified of the procedure well in advance and had enough time to prepare for the yo-yo test.

"Earlier, if you see, in the case of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, the fitness tests were conducted before the team selection. It always happened like that in the past. This time, the moment the teams were announced, whether that was the India A side or Team India, the players knew that they had to undergo fitness tests. So they had enough time to prepare. That is why so many of them prepared well and got through," Karim added.