IPL franchise pressures force players to compete through injuries, says CoE source

Jasprit Bumrah (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/MB Media/Getty Images)

The BCCI is managing a significant injury crisis across the Indian cricket team ahead of the Sri Lanka Test series beginning August 15. Jasprit Bumrah has not recovered from a knee injury sustained during the ODI tour of England and will miss the series. Several other key players, including Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Akash Deep, are also sidelined due to various injuries, while Sai Sudharsan sustained an injury during India A’s red-ball series in Sri Lanka last month.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia visited the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on August 9 to review injury-management arrangements, meeting with CoE head VVS Laxman during the visit. The timing reflects growing concerns about how players arrive at the facility already carrying accumulated damage from the Indian Premier League season.

“Too much cricket. The human body has its load limits. Overuse and stress injuries, especially in older players, are unpredictable in terms of return to play. Players play through injuries during the IPL due to franchise and financial pressures and then are dumped onto unsuspecting COE physios. The team physios and COE physios are competent and conscientious and are keeping player safety as their top priority. This, of course, makes it difficult for selectors, coaches, and captains,” a CoE source was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Why the CoE operates beyond injury rehabilitation

The injury list extends beyond red-ball specialists. Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Prince Yadav are currently at the CoE for white-ball management purposes. Akash Deep has been out since Bengal’s Ranji Trophy semi-final match, recovering from a lower-back stress fracture. The accumulation of injuries across formats has created significant challenges for the Indian selection committee as it prepares for the Test series.

“CoE is not a rehab centre. There’s a bigger responsibility and mandate given by the BCCI. Injuries are part and parcel of any player’s career. That’s why the monitoring system is very critical. And we don’t use the term blame; then we will be trying to find scapegoats. After Nitin (Patel) left, we couldn’t fill his shoes. Everything was agreed upon; Andrew (Leipus) backed off citing family reasons,” Laxman said.

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