The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in its review meeting of the senior Indian men`s team on Sunday, made several key recommendations for the selection of players going forward and one of the key factors was the introduction of the Dexa Test.
The issues of player availability, workload management and fitness parameters were also discussed at length during the meeting, which was attended by head coach Rahul Dravid, regular all-format captain Rohit Sharma, BCCI president Roger Binny, secretary Jay Shah, NCA head V.V.S. Laxman and selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma.
In light of recent happenings – several key players such as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja missed out on the T20 World Cup; and skipper Rohit Sharma, as well, missing Tests owing to injury – player`s fitness has definitely been a concern for the Indian national squad.
Injury management was in focus as several key Indian players missed a significant amount of cricket in 2022 because of injuries. Skipper Rohit Sharma had also highlighted it after the ODI series loss in Bangladesh when he expressed displeasure at players pulling up with injuries repeatedly despite being passed fit.
Keeping these factors in mind, BCCI has brought back the erstwhile Yo-Yo Test and also introduced the Dexa Test for the selection of players, going forward.
“The Yo-Yo Test and Dexa will now be part of selection criteria and implemented in the customized roadmaps of the central pool of players,” the statement from the board read.
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So, the fans will not be wrong in asking `what is this Dexa Test`?
In addition to the Yo-Yo test — which is familiar to the Indian cricket ecosystem, the addition of the Dexa Test is another “scientific layer” to test before determining if the players are fit to play.
Basically, Dexa is a scientific method to determine the Bone Mineral density of a player using a special technique known as spectral imaging. Two X-Ray beams at different energy levels are directed towards the bone of the player to reveal the bone density and mineral content.
It is an international standard and widely accepted test. A 10-minute test measures the total body fats and also breaks down the bone mass, fat tissue, and muscles in the body of a player.
How will Dexa be important to determine a player`s fitness?
Notably, Indian cricket last year saw various instances when an injured player was rushed to the playing squad and got injured again after playing very less matches. The cases of Deepak Chahar, who was injured for much of 2022, and Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from a stress fracture on his back are prime examples of it.
Usually, a player`s bone strength and mineral density get affected when they are injured. The players maintain bone strength and mineral density when they train regularly, but they tend to hamper that when recovering from an injury.
So, the Dexa will test these things and will act as a precautionary step for injured players returning to action and will save them from a re-injury.
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