As issues of fitness mount, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to switch to the Bronco test as the primary metric of judgement
for fitness testing in the camp. Earlier, the yardstick for fitness testing was the Yo Yo Test, which was introduced during the tenure of Virat Kohli in 2016.
According to a report from the Times of India, the Indian team underwent a mix of old and new fitness test drills since Adrian Leroux replaced Soham Desai as the strength and conditioning coach last year. It is learnt that the BCCI medical team, which includes the CoE and the Indian team, has struggled to work in sync to assess the fitness of players based on the Yo Yo test. Subsequently, a unanimous decision was taken to replace the Yo Yo test with the Bronco test.
How Does the Bronco Test Work?
The Bronco test is a demanding running assessment designed to measure an athlete's cardiovascular endurance, speed and ability to recover between high-intensity efforts.
The drill is conducted over a 60-metre course, with markers positioned at the starting point and at 20m, 40m and 60m intervals.
The athlete begins at the start line and completes a sequence of shuttle runs. First, they sprint to the 20m marker and return to the starting point. They then repeat the drill by running to the 40m marker and back, before completing the longest shuttle to the 60m marker and returning.
Completing all three runs counts as one round. The athlete covers 240 metres in each round.
The test requires five consecutive rounds, meaning the player runs a total distance of 1,200 metres. The clock continues to run throughout the assessment, with the athlete's final time recorded once all five rounds have been completed.
The faster the player completes the full 1,200-metre course, the better the indication of their aerobic capacity and ability to repeatedly perform high-intensity running efforts.
What Are The Parameters Of Bronco Test?
It assesses a player's capacity to sustain high-intensity effort over a prolonged period. Running between the wickets is how players make such runs during a cricket match.
It requires repeated changes of direction and bursts of speed. During fielding, players are often required to chase shots racing towards the boundary, pick up the ball, change direction, and swiftly throw it back to the pitch area.
To endure such bursts of running in a short span of time isn't easy on the mind. As players are tasked to increase their cardiovascular ability, their mental toughness is also put to a stern test.
How Is Bronco Test Different From Yo-Yo Test?
One of the biggest differences between the Bronco test and the Yo-Yo test is that the Yo-Yo test measures intermittent endurance, whereas the Bronco test measures continuous aerobic endurance and stamina. There are brief rest periods in the Yo-Yo test, while no such rest period exists in the Bronco test.
