India’s growing injury list has brought renewed scrutiny on the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), with former India batter Mohammed Kaif questioning why the world’s richest cricket board has struggled to appoint a permanent head of sports science.
Team India has been hit by a string of injuries in recent weeks, with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka after failing to recover from his knee issue. Sai Sudharsan has also been sidelined, while Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana are dealing with injuries. White-ball regulars Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakaravarthy have also faced fitness concerns.
Against that backdrop, Kaif questioned why the BCCI has not been able to bring in some of the world’s leading sports science and medical professionals despite its financial strength.
He pointed to the popularity and financial pull of the Indian Premier League as evidence of the BCCI’s influence and questioned why that advantage had not translated into filling a key position at the CoE.
“I was a little surprised that we haven’t been able to work things out with some of the world’s best physiotherapists and medical professionals and get them to work with the BCCI,” he added.
The vacancy has existed since Nitin Patel’s departure, and CoE head VVS Laxman recently explained why the BCCI’s attempts to fill it have not worked out.
Laxman revealed that Australian physiotherapist Andrew Leipus had initially agreed to take up the position, with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia holding multiple meetings with him, before he withdrew for family reasons.
The BCCI then conducted an extensive selection process involving Laxman and medical experts including Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Dr Ashish Soni and Dr Rohan Khavte. Five candidates were shortlisted, with an Australian candidate eventually emerging as the preferred choice. However, that candidate also pulled out, citing an inability to relocate to Bengaluru.
The difficulty in appointing a sports science head does not by itself establish a link to India’s current injury problems. The players affected have suffered different types of injuries, and injuries are an unavoidable part of elite sport.
However, with several key players currently unavailable, the gap at the top of the CoE’s sports science structure has inevitably attracted attention. The BCCI’s ability to eventually find and retain the right expertise could become increasingly important as India’s schedule continues across formats.
