Fitness has become an indispensable part of cricket in 2020. The cricket boards of various nations stress more on fitness than the player’s form. It does not matter how phenomenal a player is, but if he fails the fitness test, he cannot earn a place in the national squad. Many fans would remember that Ambati Rayudu was in the form of his life in 2018. However, he could not clear the Yo-Yo test. Thus, he lost his place in the Indian team.
The importance of fitness levels has increased gradually, but these rules did not apply to the players a few years ago. In fact, some nations still do not have a proper fitness test that the players need to clear. Many fans believe 5 players are slow fielders.
Mohammad Shahzad
Afghanistan’s hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman, Mohammad Shahzad, earned a lot of appreciation from the fans for his power-hitting. The Afghan considered MS Dhoni as his idol. Like Dhoni, he donned the gloves behind the stumps for his nation and destroyed the opposition bowling line-ups with the bat. Unfortunately, when he could not perform consistently, the team management decided to sack him by telling the media that he has suffered an injury.
Chris Gayle
The cricket fans would have always noted that the West Indian opener, Chris Gayle, never prefers to stand at the boundary line. Also, he believes in hitting more fours and sixes than running singles and doubles. Gayle did not choose to be a medium-fast bowler and contributed his bit in the bowling attack with some off-spin. These statements highlight that the Jamaican giant is a lazy creature who touches the minimum fitness levels to earn a place in the team.
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Former Pakistani captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, went viral on the internet after taking a yawn during his team’s 2019 World Cup match against India. Although he cleared the fitness tests, the wicket-keeper batsman could not sprint well between the wickets. A few cricket experts have publicly called him out for his fitness. Ultimately, Ahmed lost his position as the team captain. He is no longer a part of the Pakistani team.
Inzamam Ul Haq
Another ex-Pakistan captain to feature on this list is the right-handed batsman, Inzamam Ul Haq. A majority of the cricket universe trolled him for his physical appearance. However, the big-hitting batsman silenced them with his incredible performances for Pakistan. Haq is one of the most successful batsmen to have represented Pakistan at the international level.
Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav is a fielder that the captains try to hide while setting a field. The Indian cricketer has regularly suffered from injuries. However, he still managed to overcome the odds and become India’s top spin-bowling all-rounder in limited-overs cricket for a while. Jadhav tried his best to improve his fielding skills. Unfortunately, there were many occasions when he let the fans down with his performance on the field. Also, he struggled to match the other batsmen’s speed while running between the wickets.
