NEW DELHI: Former India batter Manoj Tiwary made a huge claim about the newly introduced Rugby-inspired Bronco Test by the BCCI, alleging that the test was brought in to ensure India's ODI skipper Rohit Sharma would not be able to clear it.

Tiwary suggested that the BCCI's introduction of the Bronco Test was aimed at phasing out Rohit from India's future plans, particularly for the 2027 World Cup.

"I think it will be very difficult to keep out Virat Kohli from the plans for the 2027 World Cup. But I have a doubt that they are going to look at Rohit Sharma into the scheme of things because… See, I'm a very keen observer of what things are going on in Indian cricket. And I believe this Bronco Test, which was introduced a few days back, I think is for the players like Rohit Sharma and someone who I believe they don't want to be part of the team in future. And that's why it has been introduced," Tiwary told CricTracker.

Tiwary also questioned the timing of the test's introduction, asking why it was brought in only a few days ago and not when the new head coach first took charge of the team.

"And you know, Bronco Test will be one of the toughest fitness test parameters which has been introduced by Indian cricket. But the only question is, why now? Why not when your new head coach got the assignment from the very first series? Whose idea is it? Who introduced this? Who enforced this Bronco Test a few days back? So it is a question for which I don't have an answer, but the observation says that it is going to be difficult for Rohit Sharma if he doesn't work really hard on his fitness. And I think he will be stopped at the Bronco Test," he added.

"I think it has been brought in, obviously, to set the fitness parameter at the highest level, but also I believe it has been introduced to keep a few players out, as like what happened when our Indian great legends like Gambhir, Sehwag, and Yuvraj, and others were doing really well. And after we became champions in 2011, the yo-yo test came into the forefront. So a lot of things that go behind the same. And this is my observation. Let's see what happens. The future will definitely give me answers," Tiwary said.

What is the Bronco Test?

The Bronco Test, originally developed for rugby players, is designed to measure aerobic endurance while pushing cardiovascular limits. Its introduction suggests a shift to endurance-centric benchmarks in Indian cricket.

The test involves running shuttle distances of 20, 40 and 60 meters. One set includes all three runs, and players must complete five continuous sets within six minutes. That totals 1200 meters without rest, making it a tough assessment of stamina, speed and conditioning.