Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers recounted his own experience of undergoing the Bronco test for fitness and warned of its drawbacks and effects on players. This is the same test that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to introduce for the Indian cricket team.
As per the report, the board has decided to bring the test into effect to enhance the fitness level of the players. The test involves multiple shuttle runs of 20 meters, 40 meters, and 60 meters.
Recalling his own experience, de Villiers disclosed the difficulty of the test. He claimed to be unaware of the term. De Villiers went on to say that after learning how the test operates, he realized he had previously taken one of these tests.
"I actually didn't even know when the team told me about it. I said, 'What is a Bronco Test?' But when they explained it to me, I knew exactly what it was. I've been doing it ever since I was 16 years old. Over here in South Africa, we call it the sprint repeatability test," said AB de Villiers in a video on his YouTube channel.
“It's one of the worst things you can do. I very clearly remember at the University of Pretoria, also at SuperSport Park, in the cold winter mornings of South Africa, in particular, where there's not a lot of oxygen; the altitude here is, I think, 1500 meters above sea level. So, not a lot of oxygen, and those lungs would burn,” he added.
As per the IANS report, players must finish a series of shuttle runs over 60, 40, and 20 meters in five sets to pass this test. The players' goal is to finish the 1200-meter test in the quickest amount of time possible without stopping.
Former Indian strength and conditioning coach Ramji Srinivasan praised the decision to use the Bronco Test to gauge the senior men's team players' level of fitness.
However, R Ashwin, a former player for India, was adamantly opposed to the test. According to him, players may sustain injuries as a result of a change in training. He went on to say that each time training changes, the transition should go smoothly.
