VVS Laxman has defended the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru as concerns mount over the fitness of several India players.
Five players under watch
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and president Mithun Manhas were also present at the event, which came at a testing time for India’s injury-management system. Saikia visited the facility on August 9 to review its procedures. Five players have fitness issues: Jasprit Bumrah (left-knee swelling and fluid retention), B Sai Sudharsan (big-toe injury), Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy (hamstring) and Washington Sundar (quadriceps).
Laxman’s response
Laxman said the centre’s role goes well beyond rehabilitation and includes helping players reach excellence. He rejected the idea of assigning blame for injuries, saying they are part of any player’s career, that monitoring is critical and that blaming people only leads to a search for scapegoats.
He said the centre has brought in the Bronco test, devised by Adrian, because the Yo-Yo test cannot be run while a player is in the middle of a series, and it allows fitness to be tracked continuously.
The sports science department has lacked a permanent head since Nitin Patel left in early 2025, and several attempts to fill the Head of Sports Science and Medicine post have reportedly failed.
Bumrah and Sudharsan
Bumrah and Sudharsan were picked subject to fitness, but after assessments by the centre’s medical and sports science teams neither was cleared. Laxman said players move through several stages before being declared fit and that communication with team management is seamless.
With the Sri Lanka Test series starting on August 15, India have little time to reassess the five players.
