NEW DELHI: India’s ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill expressed concern over his team’s fitness standards after the ODI series loss to England. A string of players who broke down before or during the series repeatedly left the team crippled last year. Gill suggested that India may be missing a trick in managing players’ health.His comments pointed to the breakdown of a system built on coordination between the Indian team’s management and the Center of Excellence (CoE). Not long ago, India had all their key players fit and available for the three ICC events in 2023, 2024 and 2025. TOI understands that some senior players are finding it difficult to adapt to a new system after last year’s personnel change. The most worrying aspect is the recurrence of hamstring injuries.“The flurry of recent hamstring injuries suggests that players may not be fully fit before going on the field. There seems to be a communication gap regarding a player’s health status and work between the CoE and team management,” a BCCI: said the source. The CoE has not appointed a chief of medical staff since Nitin Patel left. “There is no update of the SOPs planned in 2023. Data collection has become stronger, but its movement has become slower,” added the source.
The players push without a clear plan
During Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach, the BCCI medical team, the CoE and the team management charted year-long roadmaps for individual players around major ICC events. The aim is to get each player to the required level of fitness in time for the next ICC tournament or marquee Test series.The recurring injuries suffered by Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy did not sit well with the BCCI. Sources said Reddy was pushed to bowl near 140kph to compensate for the injury-prone. Hardik Pandya.“Reddy is working with English bowling coach Stefan Jones to increase his pace. But that should be a gradual process if he is with the team heading into a big event. Instead, he pushes himself to bowl faster every time he is with the team,” said the source.“It’s a bit about how Harshit was removed from the CoE at the insistence of managing the team when he hadn’t reached his pre-knee weight. These things need more care,” added the source.Jasprit Bumrah, for example, is a special case for the BCCI. Even with his history, he is hardly forced to hit high speed months from a marquee assignment. His loads are gradually increased to reach the desired level when the task comes.Akash Deep, who has been largely unscathed as he shouldered the responsibility of Bengal’s attack in several Ranji Trophy campaigns, could not bear the brunt of the two Test matches on the bounce since returning from injury in last year’s IPL.“Akash broke with his hamstring in the middle of the Tests in England last year. He was then cleared again for domestic cricket. He played until Bengal lost in the Ranji semifinal and from a stress fracture since. Coe needs to see why these things happened,” the source mentioned. “It remains to be seen if the damage prevention measures are implemented properly.As for Gill, he also struggled with a hamstring in the recent ODI series in England after crossing 50 in two matches.
Little support between tasks
It is learned that many players are worried about the limited communication from the BCCI medical team if they are not traveling with the national side.“These days, there are very few players in all formats. Most players get decent breaks between international assignments. If they are not subjected to CoE rehabilitation, they are left on their own. There is little communication,” said the source.The most recent example is Rohit Sharma’s hamstring problem during the IPL. When the Mumbai Indians management struggled to identify the issue for almost a month, Rohit took the initiative and consulted the records of the BCCI database, which monitored him when he played in all three formats.The team management is also worried about Washington Sundar’s repeated breakdowns. It is understood that although Reddy, Rana and Washington are young, they spend a lot of time with physios recovering from injuries.“Apart from Washington, which always has stability issues, it is about seeing Sanju Samson put the weight so easily. This is a result of the gap in the system. The general fielding standard has decreased because of these stability issues,” the source said.“The players need a more hands-on empathetic approach from the medical team. Currently, most seasoned international cricketers are reluctant to seek the intervention of the CoE. They prefer to train on their own arrangements elsewhere. This needs to be addressed,” added the source.