In order to avoid the late omission of players from the squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to conduct fitness tests of players before selecting the national team for a particular series.

Recently, Ambati Rayudu was left out from India’s ODI squad for England tour after he failed to cross the Yo-Yo endurance test. Before Rayudu, India speedster Mohammed Shami was omitted from the one-off Test against Afghanistan for the same reason.

Moreover, Sanju Samson was snubbed from India ‘A’ squad for the triangular series involving hosts England Lions and West Indies 'A' for not passing the Yo-Yo hurdle.

It is worth mentioning here that the squads for one-off Afghanistan Test, England ODIs and India ‘A’ tour were announced in the middle of the IPL last month.

As per the reports in PTI, the issue was discussed at the latest Committee of Administrators (CoA) meeting in the presence of chairman Vinod Rai, Diana Edulji, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and the general manager Saba Karim.

“Going forward, players will be picked after they pass the fitness test. The players gave the fitness test after being picked for the UK tour because of the IPL. It puts the players in an awkward situation and it will not be repeated,” a BCCI official quoted as saying by PTI.

Considering the intensity of contemporary cricket and culture of fitness in the Indian dressing room, Ravi Shastri and the team management have set their yo-yo parameter on 16.1. A player ought to clock at least 16.1 in the test to be a part of Virat Kohli led national side.

As far as 'Yo-Yo' endurance test is concerned – it is an advanced version of the 'beep' test that was used by teams of earlier generations. The entire procedure is software-based where the results are recorded.