Yuvraj Singh fails the yo-yo fitness test ahead of NZ ODI series

Yuvraj Singh who is currently ousted from the national side has failed the all-important Yo-Yo fitness test on Wednesday. The hopes of his international comeback have been dealt a setback now ahead of the limited overs series against New Zealand. The 35-year-old was hopeful of clearing the test as he had trained hard for the day but could not meet the benchmark set to be part of the Indian team.

The fitness has been given the prime importance since Virat Kohli has taken over as the skipper of the Indian team. Every player has to go through the hard yards before being eligible for the selection in the national side. Recently, Suresh Raina had also failed the test for the second time and was ruled out as the selectors were considering him for the One-Day series against New Zealand A. However, it seems that Yuvraj will have to return to Ranji Trophy to prove his form and fitness.

Yuvi misses by a small margin

Ravichandran Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara also appeared for the fitness test alongside Yuvraj Singh at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore on Tuesday. But only the swashbuckling batsman could not clear it which has put his future in doubt. The benchmark for the Yo-Yo test is 16.1 which the players are needed to achieve according to the Mumbai Mirror. The cricketer from Punjab has apparently missed the mark by the smallest of margins. According to BCCI, the players are needed to pass fitness test periodically. The board is expected to come up with a timeline for the Yo-Yo test soon.

What next for Yuvraj?

Yuvraj Singh now has to go back to the grinds of the domestic cricket again and participate in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. He had skipped the opening game for Punjab which had also attracted a criticism for former cricketers. But now he might feature in their next game against Vidarbha in Mohali which will start from October 14. He has to impress the selectors like he did in the last season in order to have any chances of reviving his international career yet again.