Here’s what the Yo-Yo test – that Yuvraj Singh & Suresh Raina failed – entails

The ‘Yo-Yo’ test was in the news recently after cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failed the endurance test, which served as one of the primary reasons for their ouster from the Sri Lanka tour. Here’s what the test entails.

1. The test was developed by Danish soccer physiologist Jens Bangsbo and is a variation of the beep test that is used to evaluate an individual’s aerobic endurance fitness.

2. The Indian cricket team regularly undergoes a series of fitness tests and the BCCI isn’t the only body to rely on the ‘Yo-Yo’ endurance test. The Australia and England cricket teams too analyse players’ fitness using this test.

3. There are two versions of the test, level one for beginners and level two for advanced. The level two fitness test involves cones placed to mark out two lines, 20 meters apart. The player has to run between the lines and turn when the beep goes off.

The pace of the beeps quicken after each minute and if the player does not reach the line in time, he or she must catch up within two more beeps.


Yuvraj Singh in action. (Image: BCCL)

4. The test is considered ‘stopped’ if the person fails to catch up with the pace of the beeps. The entire process is software-based and the results are recorded.

5. The same test, when used for football and hockey players, produce different results and have a higher benchmark as the speed and endurance level involved with the sports also differ.

6. While the BCCI has kept 19.5 as the par score for the players to pass the test, it was reported that Yuvraj Singh could only manage to score 16, which is way below par. Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey aced the test, with a score of 19 and 19.2, according to reports.