Fitness has once again been in the limelight in Indian cricket as the leading players were tested at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. From India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma to fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, a few targeted and centrally contracted players were tested prior to their imminent international engagements. Yo-Yo Test Takes Precedence Over Bronco Drill The highly-touted Bronco test, suggested by new Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach Adrian Le Roux, was left out of the recent round of testing. Instead, attention was devoted to basic health check-ups, mobility exercises, agility drills, and the classic Yo-Yo test. Clarifying the absence of the Bronco test, a BCCI source confirmed TOI saying: "It could happen when the squad assembles in Dubai for the Asia Cup. The team will start leaving late tonight (early morning of September 4) and have their first session at ICC Academy on September 5. So if the management and the S&C want to do a Bronco assessment, it could happen in Dubai. If at all it happens.” Also Read | Rohit Sharma’s Diet Plan Revealed After Weight Loss Fitness Tests Not a Selection Criteria Although fitness testing has tended to generate controversy, it is still an assessment tool and not a selection criteria. Players coming back after extended periods away from the game, such as those who played in the recent Test series against England, had to be subjected to these tests prior to the Asia Cup. After the Asia Cup, India is scheduled to host West Indies for a Test series followed by a trip to Australia for a white-ball tour, so fitness assessments become paramount in order to manage players' workload. Special Insight from Ex-S&C Coach Ex-S&C coach Soham Desai explained how fitness standards change with various management teams: “During Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri’s time, they directed Shankar Basu to get fitness to a level leading into the 2019 World Cup. Those numbers were agreed with all the stakeholders involved and they wanted to keep it a serious affair so that people leading into the 2019 World Cup come to a particular level and then we play the World Cup. That was the whole vision. That's why those numbers were agreed upon and shared and it became a selection criteria." He added: "But after that, we have done the Yo-Yo test three times a year for almost all contracted players every year. But it was never a selection criteria. It is a fitness assessment parameter where we as coaches, as people working in NCA (BCCI's CoE), get an idea, a snapshot about their fitness at that particular level.” Desai’s comments highlight that fitness drills are designed to monitor and improve player conditioning, not to determine their selection.