Several fans were furious with the BCCI after several reports emerged that the Indian board allowed stalwart Virat Kohli to take a fitness test in London, questioning the team’s protocol.
As expected earlier, Virat Kohli did not miss the recent fitness tests ahead of India’s upcoming international season.
Several Indian cricket stalwarts, including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah assembled over the weekend at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru to undergo fitness tests before international cricket kicks off again.
However, Virat Kohli was missing the tests did not fly back to India to take the tests. Amid the speculations over how Kohli plans to do his tests and prove fitness before the October ODI series in Australia, a report has claimed that Virat Kohli’s fitness test was conducted in England.
It is clear that Virat Kohli is currently in London along with his wife Anushka Sharma and kids, but one would have expected the former captain to be in Bengaluru for the fitness tests as part of the team.
But he gave his tests in London and the report has now been submitted to the BCCI. A BCCI official told Virat Kohli, “would have definitely taken permission” to give his fitness test in London.
But this special exception has stirred into a major controversy. In any case, it raises questions over team protocol and uniformity in decision-making.
The first phase of fitness focussed on strengths and recovery patterns. Along with established players like Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Sanju Samson, emerging talents such as Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad also participated.
However, with only partial evaluations due to ongoing conditioning and workload management.
A second phase of testing is scheduled for September for players in rehab or in a ‘return to play’ stage, including KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant.
With players workload and injury management becomes a major issue, the BCCI has decided to adopt strict fitness protocols, making mandatory clearances a norm before major tournaments.
