The hopes of Suresh Raina making a comeback in the T20I side got quashed when he failed the ‘Yo-Yo’ test again. As per a report in TOI, Raina could not match the desired level and was thus not considered for the selection.
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Along with him, Amit Mishra also failed to achieve the desired numbers and was deemed unfit after the result was declared.
Failing the Yo-Yo test again has come as a big blow for Raina, as earlier a well, the left-handed batsman failed the same fitness barometer. Though he is not a permanent player in ODIs, he is a vital member in T20Is. He was expected to make a comeback in the T20I side for the Australia series, but a failure in a fitness test saw him not being selected.
In fact, the selectors even decided to delay the announcement of the squad, as they were sweating over fitness results of a few players and as soon as the report came out, BCCI announced the squad late night on Sunday (October 1).
It looks like the move to select Dinesh Karthik in the shortest format was taken after Raina failed the test, as he was not at all in the scheme of things in T20I’s, despite his innings against Windies in July.
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A failure in clearing the fitness test also forced selectors to not consider Raina and Mishra in the India A squad for the series against New Zealand A.
It could have been an ideal platform for both the experienced players to make a case for themselves had they given a chance, but now it looks like the Indian team management is taking the fitness quotient quite seriously. Along with them, youngster Washington Sundar also failed to clear the fitness test. The former India U-19 player has been grabbing limelight since his debut in junior cricket and showed his prowess in IPL and Duleep Trophy, but now a failure in clearing the test has raised questions over him as well.
Though he is just 17-year-old and has time to work on his fitness and forward his case for a place in the Indian team.
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