BCCI secretary Saikia to visit COE in Bengaluru to review injury crisis

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will travel to the Board’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday to meet Head of Cricket VVS Laxman and take stock of the rehabilitation management programme amid a spate of injuries to Indian players.

India are currently missing Jasprit Bumrah (knee swelling), B Sai Sudharsan (left foot big toe), Harshit Rana (hamstring), Nitish Kumar Reddy (hamstring) and Washington Sundar (quadriceps) because of various injuries, while Akash Deep (lower back stress fracture) has been out the longest since Bengal's Ranji Trophy semi-final defeat. White-ball specialists Hardik Pandya (quadriceps), Varun Chakravarthy (hamstring) and Prince Yadav (hamstring) are also at the COE undergoing rehabilitation. Sources describe the Sports Science team at the COE as overworked and without a figure head since the resignation of Nitin Patel in early 2025.

Board officials say the immediate task is to get these players back to match fitness. Sudharsan and Bumrah had been named in the squad subject to fitness, but COE specialists opted for a cautious approach.

There have been reports of disagreement between the COE and the selection committee over injury-management timelines and the release of players before they had "ticked all the boxes." The selection committee was reportedly displeased that Harshit Rana reached England having been "distinctly overweight."

The selection committee had initially been led to believe that Bumrah and Sudarshan would be available for at least one of the two Test matches. Subsequent assessments found Bumrah was experiencing water retention in his knee following an impact injury, which requires further time to heal.

Coaches and medical staff recorded that Sudharsan had been batting 75 minutes a day for a period but continues to have pain in his big toe. Nitish Kumar Reddy increased his pace by 7 to 8 kmph, a change that placed additional strain on his hamstring and quadriceps.

"Yes, secretary Saikia will be in Bengaluru to take a stock of the situation along with VVS Laxman. There is a meeting scheduled between the two. It is not known whether head coach of national team Gautam Gambhir or chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will join online or not. It will be interesting if both Saikia and Laxman can front up and answer a few media queries with so many conjectures," a BCCI source in the know told PTI on conditions of anonymity.