"Don't Use The Word 'Blame'": VVS Laxman Counters Criticism Of Team India's Growing Injury Crisis
BCCI COE head VVS Laxman addressed concerns over injuries, stating player rehabilitation is objective and data-driven.
- VVS Laxman and BCCI secretary addressed rising injury concerns in the Indian cricket team
- Jasprit Bumrah and B Sri Sudharsan will miss the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka
- Laxman rejected claims of accountability issues in medical and selection processes
The Head of Cricket at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (COE), VVS Laxman, attended a press conference along with the board secretary, Devajit Saikia, amid the team's growing injury concern. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and B Sri Sudharsan are the latest to join a growing injury list, and both are set to miss the upcoming 2-match Test series against Sri Lanka. As critics put the 'blame' on the way CoE is functioning, with some arguing that unfit players are being released to the national team. However, Laxman has rejected suggestions of an accountability breakdown within Indian cricket's medical and selection framework.
Addressing queries regarding the clearance processes for key stars such as Bumrah and Sudharsan, both of whom were initially picked for the Sri Lanka series, Laxman emphasised that player rehabilitation remains strictly objective, data-driven, and player-centric.
In response to sharp scrutiny over whether the COE cleared players prematurely or if selection panels picked individuals without complete fitness guarantees, Laxman pushed back firmly against point-scoring.
"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."
Laxman explained that the protocol surrounding squad announcements requires clear, transparent communication between all stakeholders when a player is working through a recovery programme.
"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'."
Laxman argued that saying a player was selected and then recalled isn't technically correct, as selection was made with the condition that the player is yet to prove complete 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."
"The 'subject to fitness' is something we require to keep in mind. Any press release... there is transparency in all the fitness reports and also the selection. It is clearly mentioned that these players are picked subject to fitness. Means if they don't clear the fitness test here, the selectors will know who the other players are who will go in their place... It's basic common sense."
India Cricket Team
Jasprit Bumrah