Indian cricket board to raise focus on player fitness ahead of 50-over World Cup at home

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to increase its focus on fitness of players and consider those who have taken part in a substantial domestic season when making selections for the national team, it said on Sunday (1) after a review meeting ahead of the 50-over World Cup that will be held in the South Asian nation later in 2023.

According to the board, the National Cricket Academy based in Bengaluru will work with teams in the upcoming Indian Premier League to monitor the targeted players from the country playing in the 2023 edition of the T20 league, Reuters reported.

The review meeting was held in Mumbai to discuss the roadmap and was attended by, among others, BCCI president Roger Binny, India captain Rohit Sharma, and head coach Rahul Dravid.

Issues such as players' availability, workload management, and fitness parameters were also discussed at the meeting in the build-up to the World Cup, which will be held in October and November.

"The emerging players will have to play a substantial domestic season to be eligible for selection to the national team," the BCCI statement said.

"The Yo-Yo test and Dexa will now be part of selection criteria and implemented in the customised roadmaps of the central pool of players," it added.

The Yo-Yo test asks players to run back and forth between cones spaced 20 metres apart with growing speed and reduced time available to complete each shuttle.

On the other hand, a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA scan) is an imaging test that measures bone density.

India have missed the services of a number of key players in some high-profile tournaments of late, including the Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Last month, Sharma raised concerns over players pulling up injured repeatedly despite being declared fit, after India lost the one-day international series to Bangladesh.

"We need to try and get to the bottom of it," Sharma said at that time. "I don't know what exactly it is. Maybe they're playing too much cricket.

"We need to try and monitor those guys, because it's important to understand when they come for India, they need to be a 100%, in fact more than 100%."

Sharma himself received a serious thumb injury and missed the third one-day international as well as two Tests in the tour.