Sunil Gavaskar: You can’t select the National team based on just the Bronco Test

The Asia Cup is back where it began in 1984. That year, it was played in Sharjah, then the only Emirate with a turf pitch. The success of that event, along with the rise of other cricketing nations, has made the Cup far more inclusive than it was over 40 years ago. Today, the UAE has more turf pitches than ever before and a robust cricketing ecosystem that hosts numerous tournaments and provides employment opportunities for several Asian cricketers.

It’s wonderful to see the desert bloom with cricket pitches and to witness Abdul Rehman Bukhatir’s dream of bringing top-class cricket to the region come true. Bukhatir spent his own money to get the Sharjah stadium up and running, sowing the seeds of big cricket in the UAE. The magnificent stadiums in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Emirates exist today thanks to his untiring efforts to establish the game in the desert.

Sadly, there is hardly any recognition of his services to the game. Not even the Sharjah stadium is named after him, nor is there any trophy or award to honour his contributions to the game in the UAE.

As the new season unfolds in India, a new fitness test has been introduced that players must pass before being considered for selection to the national team. It is not known who takes these decisions, as there is no longer a cricket committee in the BCCI. Earlier, before the Justice Lodha panel’s recommendations, a Technical Committee used to make decisions on cricketing matters, which, of course, had to be ratified by the all-powerful working committee and then approved at the Annual General Meeting. The Technical Committee invariably comprised former cricketers, umpires, and Board officials. Now, to the best of knowledge, there doesn’t seem to be a committee like that, so one wonders who takes the decisions related to cricket.

The decision to have the Duleep Trophy on a zonal basis again is a good one, as it opens the doors to many players who, in earlier seasons, gave their hearts and souls in extreme weather conditions, often playing in front of empty stadiums and on pitches that were not the greatest. Being selected for the zonal teams and having their performances noticed not just by the general public but also by the selectors is a significant boost for these hardy cricketers, most of whom don’t feature in IPL teams. The BCCI must be lauded for doing this, and the Duleep Trophy should always be a zonal teams’ competition as it was envisaged when it first started.

Another decision to introduce a fitness test, called the Bronco Test, is a new feature. While it is fine to have these tests to get a general idea of where a player needs to strengthen their body, having them decide selection to the national team is a tad too much. Every person’s body is different, so having one standard for everybody in the squad is well-nigh impossible. There has to be consideration given to the player’s speciality and allowances made for that. For example, a wicketkeeper, who is constantly on the move the whole day, requires a different fitness level than the others. The fast bowlers will be different from the spinners, though the spinners will invariably bowl as many, if not more, overs in the day than them. The batters will need a different kind of fitness. As you can see, there is no such thing as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. As long as this is taken into account and the strict parameters of the new test are not followed rigidly, then it is fine.

The most important test for playing at the highest level for your country cannot be measured, as it’s between the two ears. And the clincher for me is when the heart is opened, it should have only two words, ‘Indian cricket’, and nothing else.

Published on Sep 09, 2025