The much-talked-about Yo-Yo test is back in the news after Team India head coach Ravi Shastri along with his support staff have reportedly shown interest in increasing the minimum qualification mark to 17 from the existing level of 16.1. The move, set to be implemented before the South Africa tour, will be done to give utmost priority to the fitness levels of Indian cricketers.
So what exactly is the Yo-Yo Test?
This test is basically a variation of the Beep test which is a running aerobic fitness routine that Indian cricketers undertook in the past. This is a gruelling routine and has two sets of cones which are placed 20 metres apart. Once the beep is sounded, an athlete has to reach the marker on the other side by the time the next beep shrieks. He then has to turn around and rush back to mark from where he started the run.
The frequency of the beeps keeps on increasing with every round – and a player is considered to be successful in the test after they finish the run to the cone and back. There is a gap of about seven seconds between each trip.
The test starts with a player kicking off his jog at a speed of level 5, which consists of one shuttle. Subsequently, the next speed level, which is 9, also consists of one shuttle. The next speed level is 11 and this has two shuttles while level 12 has three and level 13 four. There are eight shuttles per level from 14 upwards.