You don't need a rocket scientist to tell you that Indian cricket's standard of fitness owes it to two of their former and most successful captains of all time - MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. If Dhoni was the one to highlight the importance of fitness - and infamously say 'two players don't fit into this team anymore' about a couple of legends as per his biopic, Kohli took it a notch higher.

He and former coach Ravi Shastri revolutionized the concept of fit Indian cricketers, and for that, they took some radical measures, including the infamous Yo-Yo Test, which was introduced in late 2017.

The rule of the test was simple. Those who would hit the minimum passing score would be eligible for team selection. The likes of Kohli, KL Rahul, Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan and Jasprit Bumrah would always make the cut, whereas the rest either struggled to attain the score or missed out. The passing score for the Yo-Yo Test eventually increased from 16.1 to 17, and because of it, several players' opportunities in the Indian team were cut short.

However, did you know who was the first Indian cricketer to pass this test and ace it altogether? HINT: He no longer lives in India and plays cricket for another country. Still can't guess? Ok, here's another clue. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain for India and currently plays for the USA Cricket team. Yes, he is none other than Unmukt Chand.

Chand was a proven performer when it came to performing in Yo-Yo Tests during his time. Surely, the test became integral to Team India's functioning but always existed in the system. So when Chand was coming through the ranks, Sanjay Bharadwaj, Gautam Gambhir's childhood coach and a renowned figure in Delhi's coaching circuit, agreed when RJ Raunac pointed out an instance involving Chand.

"I had met someone at DDCA about 1-2 years ago. He told me whenever they had Yo-Yo Test, the one player who always passed it was Unmukt Chand. The first player who consistently never failed the test. Others would either skip it or wouldn't show up, but Unmukt Chand was consistent regarding fitness," he said on The Raunac Podcast.

What went wrong with Unmukt Chand?

His next question to Bharadwaj is what haunts every Unmukt fan and puzzles Indian cricket - "What went wrong?" Despite leading India to the U-19 World Cup win in New Zealand and joining reputed names such as Mohammad Kaif and Kohli, Chand faded away quicker than he rose to the limelight, never to play for the Indian senior team. As per Bharadwaj, Chand endured the same fate as many promising talents before and after him.

"In 2012, he won the World Cup. He was 17-18 then. After that, he became instant superstar. He featured in a drinks ad, where Kohli and Dhoni were on one side and He was on another. So that's how big he got. He was the best but there are some factors. Due to some management companies, he got exposed. 'You're a star. You don't need to prove yourself. I would have wanted him to go and score 1000 runs in Ranji Trophy. I feel you're a star as long as you perform. The world has seen times when even Tendulkar was called 'Endulkar'. Take Ranji Trophy seriously. Earn respect. Somewhere, you need to have that fear of failure. Once you let it go, that's where the problem begins," he said.

"Last year before the World Cup, he came to Bhopal and practiced with me quietly."

Bharadwaj also mentioned that Chand became a victim of politics in the USA. He did not find a place in their T20 World Cup squad, with Bharadwaj blaming their cricket board. "Their entire association is full of people with a background in tennis, and most of them are Indians hailing from a particular region."