Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 9 (ANI): BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman has said the fitness status of players undergoing rehabilitation is regularly communicated to the selection committee and team management, stressing that the process is transparent and based on continuous monitoring.
Amid concerns over the recent spate of injuries, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia met Laxman on Sunday to review the rehabilitation and injury-management programme at the facility.
Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, Laxman explained that selectors approach the CoE for fitness reports before finalising squads.
He said the facility assesses the player’s current status and shares the report with the selection committee chairman, head coaches and the BCCI.
Saikia also attended the press conference along with BCCI president Mithun Manhas and other senior officials.
“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 the women’s selection committee with a copy to obviously the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI,” Laxman said.
Indian players Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who are injured, are among the players currently undergoing rehabilitation at the facility, with all being ruled out from the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from August 15.
Sai Sudharsan is also likely to miss the crucial away Test series due to an injury.
Amid the ongoing injury concerns in the Indian camp, Laxman said players such as Bumrah and Sudharsan were initially selected for the Sri Lanka series subject to fitness clearance, with their rehabilitation progress being monitored at every stage.
“So, Bumrah and Sai Sudarshan were going to be picked to Sri Lanka subject to fitness clearance. And as I told before, you know, 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,” he said.
He also stressed that there is transparency in both fitness reporting and the selection process.
“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,” Laxman said.
He explained that when a player is selected subject to fitness, the selectors are also aware of alternative options in case the player fails to clear the required fitness assessment.
Saikia explained that selection meetings are held several weeks before a team is scheduled to travel, making it difficult to determine a player’s exact fitness status at the time of selection.
“We have our selection meetings at least three-four weeks before the team departs. So therefore, three 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,” Saikia said.
He added that players are not automatically ruled out during the selection process as their condition could improve before the team travels or the match is played.
“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,” Saikia said.
Saikia said recovery timelines can vary from player to player.
“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,” he added.
India are currently fifth in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 standings, having registered four wins and four losses in nine matches, with a Points Percentage (PCT) of 48.150. (ANI)
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