Now Reading: VVS Laxman defends CoE as India’s injury crisis mounts
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VVS Laxman defends CoE as India’s injury crisis mounts
VVS Laxman on Sunday defended the BCCI Centre of Excellence amid a spate of injuries to India cricketers, insisting the facility is not merely a rehab centre. Speaking in Bengaluru, Laxman said…
The Story in Brief
VVS Laxman on Sunday defended the BCCI Centre of Excellence amid a spate of injuries to India cricketers, insisting the facility is not merely a rehab centre. Speaking in Bengaluru, Laxman said the CoE works seamlessly with selectors and team management to monitor around 150 male and female players. He rejected the notion of blame, calling injuries "part and parcel" of elite sport. Jasprit Bumrah and B Sai Sudharsan were named in India's Sri Lanka tour squad subject to fitness clearance, but their recovery did not progress in time.
Laxman explained that the selection committee requests fitness reports from the CoE before picking players. Those marked with an asterisk, meaning "subject to fitness", are selected conditionally. "It's not a machine where the timelines will always be met," he said. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia added that squads are picked weeks in advance, so players may still be in rehabilitation at the time of selection.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that the Centre of Excellence is to blame for India's growing injury list is overstated. Laxman rightly notes that players are not machines and that the asterisk system of conditional selection provides transparency. Still, the sheer volume of sidelined stars, Bumrah, Pandya, Sudharsan, Rana, demands more than a defence of process. The real test will be whether the coordination Laxman praises prevents players from being named in squads before they are truly fit, or if the pattern continues.
Sources (3): newindianexpress.com, news.abplive.com, deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
