# Gavaskar blames training methods, not CoE, for India injuries 2026-08-16T12:08:50+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Sunil Gavaskar has defended the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) physios and instead questioned India’s training methods after a string of injuries ruled out Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Reddy, and others. Writing in Mid-Day, the former captain noted most injuries are hamstring-related and said “clearly there’s something wrong with their training”. He criticised modern restrictions on bowlers in nets, saying bowling fewer than match overs under the guise of biomechanics is counterproductive. The Times of India also reports that Gavaskar argued players should prioritise match fitness over gym fitness. VVS Laxman, head of the CoE, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia have previously denied any communication gap between the centre and the team management. Cricinfo notes the CoE still lacks a Head of Sports Science & Medicine, adding to scrutiny. Captain Shubman Gill has also expressed frustration over constant injury-enforced changes ahead of the World Cup. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Gavaskar’s intervention shifts blame from the CoE physios to a systemic over-reliance on gym fitness and workload restrictions. Times Now and Times of India emphasise his critique of modern biomechanics and net-session limits, while Cricinfo focuses on the CoE’s structural gap (no Head of Sports Science). The sources agree the injury list is alarming, but disagree implicitly on root cause: Gavaskar sees training philosophy, Laxman and BCCI see operational soundness. The middle ground is that the debate now forces BCCI to either appoint a head of sports science or publicly defend current methods. Watch for BCCI’s response or a review panel announcement. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com - cricinfo.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T09:22:41+00:00. Tags: BCCI, Centre of Excellence, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/gavaskar-defends-coe-questions-training-for-indias-injuries/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/gavaskar-defends-coe-questions-training-for-indias-injuries/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/