In a move that has stirred controversy, Virat Kohli was reportedly granted a special exemption by the BCCI to complete his fitness test in London. This comes as his teammates underwent the same mandatory evaluation at the NCA in Bengaluru.
September 3, 2025: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly given star batsman Virat Kohli special permission to take his mandatory fitness test in London. This action is expected to cause a lot of discussion in Indian cricket circles. The remainder of the Indian team is going through the same test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Dainik Jagran said that Kohli, who is now in the UK with his family, passed the test under the supervision of someone who was allowed to do so. His particular exemption is very different from the fact that Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Siraj were all at the NCA to take their tests.
The BCCI has lately made fitness tests, such as the Yo-Yo score, a must for every player who wants to be selected. A BCCI official said that Kohli would have asked for and gotten permission for such a request. The official did say, though, that it is not obvious if other players will be given the same exemption.
Kohli has already retired from T20Is and is not on the Asia Cup team, but he is anticipated to be on the ODI team for the forthcoming series against Australia. Some of the best players, like Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, and KL Rahul, still need to take their fitness tests. Kohli was given a special exemption because he was the only player to have his test done outside of the country. This makes people wonder if there is a protocol that applies to all players, no matter how big they are.