Virat Kohli’s Instagram post on Thursday, in which he disclosed his yo-yo fitness test score, has caused displeasure among the higher-ups at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Following the viral spread of Kohli’s Instagram story, the management of the Indian cricket team reportedly swiftly established a stringent guideline for all Indian players.
This guideline specifically dictates that players should refrain from sharing their yo-yo test scores, as this information is considered confidential. The instruction to avoid such disclosures on social media platforms was conveyed by the senior management of the BCCI, according to The Indian Express.
The report indicates that the cricketers currently attending a fitness and preparatory camp at Alur in Bengaluru ahead of the Asia Cup were given this guideline verbally.
In an Instagram story, Kohli unveiled his accomplishment of a 17.2 score in the yo-yo test. He captioned the story with, “The joy of conquering the yo-yo test between the daunting cones. 17.2 achieved,” alongside an image of himself. It’s worth noting that the BCCI-prescribed fitness benchmark is 16.5.
However, the BCCI’s reaction to this public revelation was swift and stern. They reminded the players that disclosing confidential information on public platforms could potentially violate the terms of their contracts.
According to a BCCI official quoted in the report, “Players have been verbally instructed to refrain from sharing any confidential matters on their social media accounts. While they are welcome to share training pictures, disclosing test scores could potentially breach contractual agreements.”
The Indian cricket players preparing for the upcoming Asia Cup will be engaged in a six-day training camp at Alur, which commenced on Thursday. As per reports from the PTI news agency, besides Kohli, India’s captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya also undertook the yo-yo test on the opening day of the camp, both successfully meeting the required standard.
The camp primarily comprises players who are part of the Asia Cup squad and had not traveled to Ireland after the West Indies tour. Notable names on this list include Kohli, Rohit, Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.
Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, and Tilak Varma, part of the Indian team that secured a 2-0 victory over Ireland in a three-match T20I series, are anticipated to join the camp on Friday. This quartet is expected to fly from Dublin to Bengaluru for the training.