How T20 changed fitness regimes for cricketers around the world

While cricketers had been hitting the gym before the rise of T20, the shortest format changed priorities. The focus switched from cardio to strength, from treadmills to lifting weights. Cricketers became more muscular. (Image source: Instagram/Virat Kohli)

The global cricket fraternity was in for a rude shock when Cricket South Africa left Dane van Niekerk out of their squad for the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup on home soil. Van Niekerk is no ordinary cricketer. She has the second-most runs (1,877) and third-most wickets (65) for South Africa in women’s T20Is. She led them until her injury last year.

South Africa left her out because she failed a fitness test. She did complete the 2 km run, but fell short of the mark by 18 seconds. A hurt van Niekerk retired not too long afterwards.

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Sisanda Magala of South Africa Men had been left out on similar grounds too. A disappointed Magala spoke to Firdose Moonda of ESPNCricinfo: “Fitness in South Africa is only running. When do you run a whole 2 km consistently on a cricket field? You don’t. Your maximum sprint is probably when you are chasing a ball on the boundary.”

With 14 wickets at the SA20 for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Magala earned his place back in the national side. He is now part of the Chennai Super Kings camp.

Rahkeem Cornwall of the West Indies, one of the heaviest men to have played Test cricket, was never recalled after he was dropped, despite being consistent in all formats in domestic cricket and the West Indies not quite excelling at international level.

For similar reasons, Azam Khan might have impressed at the Pakistan Super League, but is unlikely to be a regular in the Pakistan side anytime soon.

A visible change

Cricket is different from most outdoor sports. From Warwick Armstrong to Colin Milburn to Mike Gatting to Arjuna Ranatunga to Inzamam-ul-Haq, cricketers have succeeded at the top despite not being the fittest.

Their physique was made fun of in an era when body-shaming, even of the worst kind, was considered acceptable. Even then, it never came in the way of their selection, their livelihood. Their runs and wickets were sufficient.

However, cricket evolved over time. As with every sport, fitness levels scaled unprecedented heights. Fielding did not merely improve, it attained unrecognizable standards. Batters became quicker between the wickets.

Teams left no stone unturned while selecting cricketers. It was no longer sufficient for a player to be merely incredibly skilled at bowling or batting or even both.

Fitness tests became more stringent. Until a time, India were never considered among the fittest sides. The standards were raised when Virat Kohli took over as captain in 2015.

In 2017, India added the Yo-Yo Test as a condition. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, at one point among the best fielders in the country, were the first to fail the test.

In 2017, India’s Yo-Yo Test requirements used to be 16:1 (the cricketers needed to have completed the first shuttle at speed level 16). Kohli himself led the way, often finishing among the fittest Indian cricketers.

Since 2023, Indian cricketers also have to undergo the Dexa (bone scan) Test before being selected.

Other countries have fitness standards of their own.

All this raised two questions. Given that cricketers of the past had illustrious careers despite not meeting these standards, how relevant are these tests? And secondly, how important a criterion should fitness be in cricket, a sport primarily dependent on its unique technical skills?

The critics of these stringent requirements question whether fitness actually compensates for the runs or wickets a cricketer brings through sheer skills.

The pro-fitness argue that fitness can make a great cricketer even greater. A fast bowler can be outstanding, but passing an endurance fitness test guarantees them to be devastating even on Day 5 after four days of toil.

The other skill

Most cricketers are logically drawn towards Twenty20 (T20), the highest-paid format of the sport. It quickly became evident that power hitters would evolve into the MVPs of T20 cricket.

While cricketers had been hitting the gym before all that, the shortest format changed priorities. The focus switched from cardio to strength, from treadmills to lifting weights. Cricketers became more muscular.

Chris Gayle debuted in 1999. Browse through photographs of his cricketing days, and you would find it difficult to believe that the lean, athletic youth and the muscular Twenty20 giant are the same person.

Compare Chris Gayle's lean physique in 1999 with how muscular he looked while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo: Naparazzi/Wikimedia Commons 2.0)

Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, compatriots of Gayle, are among the most feared hitters in the history of the format. Both have attributed their success to regular sessions at the gum.

Also read: RCB to Retire Jersey Numbers 17 and 333 as a Tribute to AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle

“The majority of the guys are in the weights room; there’s not much running these days. For Test cricket it was more endurance work we had to do, just very light weights. Now guys are doing much heavier weights and I think that’s one of the reasons guys are hitting the ball so far,” Ramnaresh Sarwan was quoted as saying in Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde’s Cricket 2.0.

T20 demands power hitting, but over a short span of time. Test cricket requires stamina and endurance, with little focus on power hitting. It is difficult for a cricketer to excel at both.

The cricketing world has been split into format-specific specialists. Over time, that trend is likely to increase.