• Sportzyverse
• Cricket news
• 07/02/2024
• 0 Comments

Not having star players like Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya in their squad could have cost team India another loss in the ICC Trophy final. Nonetheless, it was a rare instance in the last couple of years when all the big and impactful players had 100% availability for the national selection. Notably, this would not have been possible if the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) hadn’t incorporated “injury preventive tests” and “performance tests” in NCA’s training program for the Indian contracted players.

These measures came into play considering the frequent injuries to major players and their absence from the team. However, before them, the NCA’s training and selection programs were way different from what we see now. Earlier, especially under Virat Kohli’s captaincy and Ravi Shastri as the head coach, fitness tests like the yo-yo test became prevalent to check a player’s endurance and overall fitness.

BCCI and NCA’s New Training Approach that Promoted Player Physical Wellbeing

According to a new development, based on The Times of India’s recent article, the NCA now operates with three “performs” – the National Fitness Training Criteria (NFTC), the Performance Testing Battery, and the Prevention Testing Battery. These are viewed as “fitness measures” rather than “selection criteria.”

“The idea is that once a player is centrally contracted, he must have reached the desired level of fitness,” a BCCI source explained. “Given the extensive amount of cricket and time spent travelling, it is unreasonable for contracted players to undergo NFTC tests frequently. Hence, the focus has shifted to injury prevention and performance tests.” Team India’s strength and conditioning coach, Soham Desai, along with physios Yogesh Parmar, Thulasi, and Kamlesh Jain, have been praised for keeping players in shape through the 2023 ODI World Cup and the recent T20 World Cup.

Also read After Virat Kohli, Indian Captain Rohit Sharma Announces Retirement From T20 Cricket

Injury prevention tests include simple exercises such as squats, walking lunges, and medicine ball throws to analyze players’ postures and identify injury risks. The BCCI source credited the new testing methods for this improvement, emphasizing their role in enhancing player fitness and reducing injuries.