Explained: What is the Yo-Yo Test

A lot is at stake for the fans and cricketers on the Yo-Yo endurance Test and we decided that it’s time to come up with an explainer.

It came as a huge setback for the cricket fans when Ambati Rayudu was dropped from the Indian ODI squad touring England after he failed to pass the Yo-Yo Test.  Not only did he fail but fell behind the benchmark of 16.3, scoring an abysmal 14.1. First came the disappointment of a CSK star missing the bus despite stellar performance in the IPL.

Also Read: Ambati Rayudu fails Yo-Yo Test, set to be dropped for England Tour

This was followed by inquisitiveness surrounding the Yo-Yo Test. Many also started talking about the time when Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were kept out of the team upon failing to qualify the Test. All this raised the curiosity about the Yo-Yo Test and we decided to oblige.

In the day and age that we live in, all professional sports have some or the other benchmark fitness Test. In cricket, there used to be the beep Test which has now been replaced by the Yo Yo Test.

The Test is nothing but a highly evolved form of shuttle running in which the time between each beep keeps reducing as the person appearing for the Test has to keep increasing his speed with each beep.

The examinee stands in the 20 m space between two lines of parallel cones. The points are marked as A, B, C, so on and so forth. After every 20 m stretch, there are gaps of 5 m in which the examinee is supposed to walk. This serves as a recovery time and you have to start running on the next beep.

If you fail to reach in time of the beep, you are given one more chance. If you lag behind again, it is all over and you are declared to have failed the test.