India Injury Crisis Vvs Laxman Defends Bcci Coe Not Rehab Centre

Amid mounting criticism of its operations and India’s injury crisis, BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman has defended the operations of the Bengaluru-based facility.

While Laxman conceded that the BCCI have failed to find a head for its Sports Science and Medicine wing since Nitin Patel vacated the position over a year ago, he affirmed that the CoE had bigger goals to fulfil than merely serving as a rehabilitation centre.

“CoE is not merely a rehab centre. There are bigger roles to play for it in helping cricketers achieve excellence,” Laxman told reporters in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Laxman added that there was no reason to find scapegoats amid the injury concerns that have been listed in recent weeks.

“I think we don’t like to use the word ‘blame’, because when you are using ‘blame’, then you are finding someone as a scapegoat. I don’t think… so maybe I don’t know what you all feel, and you start blaming because of this and because of that. But there is a brilliant coordination between the COE, between the team management of both the teams, and the SSM (Sports Science and Medicine) staff of both the teams, and the selection committee.”

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana were the first players to be out injured before selection for the Test tour to Sri Lanka before pace ace Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tour alongside Washington Sundar. On Saturday, batter Sai Sudharsan joined the list after failing to recover fitness in time to join the squad.

Laxman explained the protocol surrounding squad announcements which had both Bumrah and Sudharsan named in the initial 15-member squad for the Sri Lanka tour before being omitted due to fitness concerns.

“When we send a fitness status report, the process is that the selector reaches out to the COE asking for the fitness status report. We collect the current fitness status and send a fitness status report to the selection committee chairman or chairperson in the women’s selection committee, with a copy to the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI.”

“Now, Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan, there is always an asterisk. When the media release comes from the BCCI, there is an asterisk attached to a player selection. And what does that asterisk mean? It means ‘subject to fitness’.”

“So Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were going to be picked… subject to fitness clearance. You assess them, you move them from one stage to the next stage, and if the progression is slow, you communicate to the selection committee chairman and the head coach, which is happening seamlessly. They understand that they are not yet ready to participate in an international series. It is always player-centric and team-centric,” he added.

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