What happened

BCCI officials responded to a reported injury crisis in Indian cricket. Jasprit Bumrah and B. Sai Sudharsan reportedly missed the upcoming Sri Lanka tour after failing to obtain fitness clearances. V.V.S. Laxman, head of the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), defended BCCI injury-management and recovery protocols.

Laxman said BCCI avoids blaming individuals and instead focuses on coordination among the CoE, team management, and the Sports Science & Medicine (SSM) staff. Laxman acknowledged that a player may be declared fit and then suffer another injury soon after, but argued that this recurrence does not automatically prove a problem in the process.

Laxman emphasised monitoring of player readiness and noted contributions of strength and conditioning staff and other specialists involved in keeping players ready for competition. Laxman also argued that injuries are inevitable at elite levels and that avoiding all injury risk would reduce peak performance.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia responded to a question about whether players in rehabilitation should be avoided for selection. Saikia said selection meetings are held weeks in advance and that the human body may take additional time of around two to four weeks after rehabilitation to become fully ready. Saikia also attributed the absence of a Head of Sports Science since March 2025 to a shortage of qualified candidates.

Laxman said the BCCI will not rush appointment steps and that quality is paramount. Laxman referred to efforts to fill the sports science head role after Nitin Patel’s exit: Andrew Leipus was identified as a first-choice candidate but withdrew later. Laxman stated that an expanded interview process was conducted with other candidates, but those candidates did not join. Laxman added that remaining candidates are already working at the CoE and that the BCCI plans to upskill them while seeking a suitable person with the right stature, experience, and knowledge.

Related current affairs