BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman and board secretary Devajit Saikia explained why Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were picked for India’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka series despite their injuries, only to be ruled out later. They also explained how the CoE, selectors and team management communicate on players’ fitness.
Bumrah sustained an impact injury during the ODI series against England last month and missed the final match at Lord’s. The CoE initially assessed that he would recover in time for the Sri Lanka Tests and he was therefore named in the squad with an asterisk next to his name, stating that his participation was “subject to fitness clearance”. However, the injury proved more serious than initially expected and, with the medical team unwilling to risk his participation, Bumrah was released from the squad.
Sudharsan, who scored two centuries in two ‘A’ Tests before suffering an injury during the second game against Sri Lanka ‘A’, has since been undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE in Bengaluru. Like Bumrah, he was picked subject to fitness clearance but was ruled out on Saturday after failing to recover in time.
The two withdrawals after their selection sparked criticism of the CoE, with reports even suggesting that the centre and the current selection committee have not always been on the same page over injury-management timelines and the readiness of players.
{{/usCountry}}The two withdrawals after their selection sparked criticism of the CoE, with reports even suggesting that the centre and the current selection committee have not always been on the same page over injury-management timelines and the readiness of players.
{{/usCountry}}Responding to reporters on Sunday, Laxman sought to clarify how the process works and stressed that the CoE’s fitness assessments are communicated transparently to the selectors and team management.
“The process is that the selector reaches out to the COE asking for the fitness status report. And we collect the current fitness status and send a report to the selection committee chairman or chairperson in women's selection committee, with a copy to obviously the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI,” he said.
“So, Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were going to be picked for Sri Lanka subject to fitness clearance. And as I told before, 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.
“There's transparency in all the fitness reports and also in the selection. At the end of the selection, it's clearly mentioned that these players are picked subject to fitness. It means if they don't clear the fitness test, the selectors will know who are the other players who will go in their place. I mean, it's basic common sense,” he added.
Saikia, who met Laxman at the CoE to reportedly take stock of the rehabilitation programme, said the BCCI approaches such situations with optimism, retaining hope until the last possible moment that an injured player will recover in time.
“We have our selection meetings at least 3-4 weeks before the team departs. So therefore, 3-4 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 programme of rehabilitation. So if he gets fit within the period of 21 days or 28 days, he will be taken into the team,” he said.
“We do not outrightly reject a player because, by the time it will be effectively required for travel or to play the match, he may be totally fit. So we do not deprive the player also. Nobody can predict that (timelines). 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 recover).”
According to a PTI report, Saikia visited the CoE as the board remains concerned by the spate of injuries that has hit the Indian team in recent months. It is not just Bumrah and Sudharsan; India are also without Harshit Rana (hamstring), Nitish Kumar Reddy (hamstring) and Washington Sundar (quadriceps) due to various injuries. Akash Deep, who is recovering from a lower-back stress fracture, has been out for the longest, having been sidelined since Bengal’s Ranji Trophy semi-final defeat.
The injury list also extends to the white-ball setup, with Hardik Pandya (quadriceps), Varun Chakravarthy (hamstring) and Prince Yadav (hamstring) currently at the CoE.
With the Sports Science team already stretched and without a permanent head since Nitin Patel’s resignation in early 2025, the challenge for the BCCI is now two-fold: ensuring greater clarity in injury assessments while getting a growing list of players back on the field.