Virat Kohli only Indian cricketer to give fitness test in London, BCCI under scanner for granting ‘permission’: Report

In a rare move that has all the raw material to snowball into an unnecessary talking point in Indian cricket before the Asia Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly made a special exception for senior batter Virat Kohli by allowing him to undergo his mandatory fitness test in London, even as the rest of the national squad reported for tests at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru last week. India's Virat Kohli (L) chats with India's head coach Gautam Gambhir during training session.(AFP)

The fitness assessments, which are being carried out ahead of the packed international season starting later this year, saw top names including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Siraj undergo evaluation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on August 29. According to a Dainik Jagran report, Kohli, who is currently in England with his family, was permitted to complete his fitness test under supervision in London — a decision that raised eyebrows given the uniform protocol typically expected for all players.

Virat Kohli must have taken prior permission

Kohli, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, is only available for One-Day Internationals and is expected to be part of the squad for the upcoming ODI series in Australia in October-November. The team of BCCI physiotherapists and strength and conditioning coaches submitted individual fitness reports to the board, which included Kohli's London-based assessment.

The report adds that a senior BCCI official did not directly address the deviation from standard procedure but confirmed that Kohli “would have taken prior approval” for conducting the test overseas. However, the incident has led to a quiet debate over whether similar allowances could be extended to other players in the future — particularly those recovering abroad or with personal commitments outside India.

The first phase of testing primarily focused on baseline strength and recovery patterns. Players who completed their fitness checks include established names like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and Sanju Samson, as well as emerging talents such as Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, and Rinku Singh. While most players met the required fitness benchmarks, a few underwent only partial evaluations due to ongoing conditioning or workload management.

A second phase of testing is scheduled for September and will cover players currently in rehab or in the “return-to-play” stage. KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and Nitish Reddy are among those expected to be assessed next month.

With injuries and player workload management becoming an increasingly delicate issue in recent years, the BCCI has adopted a stricter stance on fitness protocols. Mandatory clearances before major series or tournaments have now become a norm, aimed at preventing last-minute pullouts and ensuring peak physical readiness.

While Kohli’s London-based test may be viewed as a one-off, it poses a broader question for BCCI: should geographic flexibility in fitness testing be institutionalised, or remain a privilege extended only in exceptional cases?

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