VVS Laxman, the head of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE), has pushed back against growing criticism of its injury-management protocols following a spate of injuries in the senior men's team. India is preparing for a major Test series in Sri Lanka but will be without ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and No. 3 batter Sai Sudharsan, who were withdrawn from the squad after failing to prove their fitness. Both players were picked conditionally when the squad for the two-Test series was announced on July 28, a week before the team's departure. While Auqib Nabi has been flown out as a replacement for Bumrah, a replacement for Sudharsan has yet to be announced.
Laxman denied any communication gap between the CoE, team management, and selectors. He detailed the protocols followed during the conditional selection process, stating, "There's a brilliant coordination between the COE, between the team management of both the teams and the SSM [Sports Science & Medicine] staff of both the teams, and the selection committee." He explained that selectors reach out to the CoE for a fitness status report, which is then shared with the selection committee chairperson, the head coaches, and the BCCI. Regarding the asterisk attached to player selections in media releases, Laxman clarified, "It means subject to fitness. So, Bumrah and Sai Sudarshan were going to be picked to Sri Lanka subject to fitness clearance. If the progression is slow, you communicate to the selection committee chairman and the head coach which is happening seamlessly." He added that the process is transparent, noting, "Means if they don't clear the fitness test, the selectors will know who are the other players who will go in their place if they don't clear the fitness test. I mean, it's basic common sense."
Laxman also stressed that the CoE's role extends beyond being a rehabilitation centre for injured players. Whenever a player gets injured in any environment, including the Indian team, the team physio understands the nature of the injury. "We got experts and specialists with whom we have got a year long connection," Laxman said. Once a diagnosis occurs, the player is sent to the CoE. "Obviously, we clinically examine through the SSM team. Based on that assessment, we know what is the plan of action for them to recover and go back and join the team." The process involves strength and conditioning, followed by skill-based training and building up the load. "We play two RTP matches before we declare the player fit. The whole idea is that when he goes back to the Indian team, men and women, or wherever, including the state teams, he has to be up and running. It is an objective way of assessing the player to move from one stage to the next stage. But it's human body. It is not a machine where the timelines will always be met."
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia added context to the conditional selection process, explaining why the conditions for Bumrah and Sudharsan were not met. "We basically have our selection meetings at least three to four weeks before the team departs. Therefore, three weeks before or four weeks before, we do not know the exact status of the player. Therefore, that asterisk subject to fitness is given because that particular player is under a program of rehabilitation," Saikia said. He noted that they do not outrightly reject a player if they are not fit on the date of selection, as they may be fully fit by the time they are required to travel or play. "We do not deprive the player also. And this is very uncertain that within 21 days, he will get picked or not. Nobody can predict that, and as VVS has rightly said, it is a human body. It is not a machine. So he may take 14 days' time or he may take 28 days' time to fully recover subject to his own body composition."
