IPL 2019 | No Yo-Yo test for Chennai Super Kings squad, says Ramji Srinivasan

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner and all the teams will be entering the final stages of preparation in order to lay their hands on the coveted trophy. There's a special onus on defending champions, Chennai Super Kings, who silenced critics last season as they marched their way to the final with great comfort despite having the oldest squad in the league.

Former India cricket team trainer, Ramji Srinivasan, who is part of the franchise has picked the 2km or 2.4km run and the Sprint Repeat test as the measuring scale to gauge the fitness of the players. Ramji explained how he prefers smart training and designs tests keeping in mind the specific requirements of individual players rather than carrying a common testing parameter like the Yo-Yo test.

"I have picked the 2km or 2.4km run to check the fitness standards of the players as also the Sprint Repeat test. Just because the national team does the Yo-Yo test doesn't mean I need to follow the process. I believe in the need to prepare challenges for players keeping their specific requirements in mind. For example, even when I was with the Indian team, the training regime I prepared for Dhoni wasn't the same as the one for Sachin Tendulkar.

"Similarly, if Virat Kohli is keen to do deadlifts and his body reacts positively to it, doesn't mean that MS must also do them. The Yo-Yo is more suited to aerobic sports like football and that is how it started. Also, fitness is a wide spectrum and it is important to keep a comprehensive approach to overall fitness and not just on endurance level. Overall tabulation is very important to look into the various factors like strength, power, agility, endurance, flexibility etc," Srinivasan said in an interview with IANS.

Srinivasan further commented on CSK captain MS Dhoni’s fitness regime whom the former described as a 'smart trainer',

"MS is in a different zone altogether. He likes to keep things very simple. He doesn't do clean-and-jerk and other forms of power lifting. He likes to do his strength work and boxing work. Basically he is a smart trainer and works on a set of exercises that is simple and helps sharpen his skills,"Srinivasan added.