In a series of interesting developments, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has come to the defence of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) amid concerns of recurring injuries picked up by Indian players. Gavaskar believed blaming CoE is unjustified, noting that most players suffer injury while playing for India and not while undergoing rehabilitation at the facility.
Big concern for Team India
Several key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan and Hardik Pandya are currently nursing their injuries. With the list continuing to grow, the CoE has faced heat from both fans and experts, with questions being raised over whether players are being cleared to return to play before completing the entire recovery programme.
Gavaskar supports CoE
Gavaskar, however, feels that the criticism towards the physios at BCCI's CoE is unnecessary. With several Indian players struggling with hamstring injuries, the former Indian batter suggested that their training process could be the key problem behind recurring injuries.
“While Bumrah has a knee injury, it’s seen that most Indian players suffer from hamstring injuries. Clearly, there is something wrong with their training and that is why these recurring hamstring injuries," wrote Gavaskar in his column for the Mid-Day.
“These injuries happen when they are playing for India, but unfortunately the blame is put on the physios at the BCCI centre of excellence. The so-called biomechanics, where a bowler can bowl only so many balls in the practice nets, is a questionable practice," added Gavaskar.
The legendary batter also raised concern over players spending extended periods in the gym on a daily basis, saying that the primary focus should be on maintaining fitness levels needed for playing competitive cricket.
“It is an issue that needs a good, hard look at why these injuries are happening again and again. It’s more important to be match fit than gym fit. But then, maybe I am from a generation that had different ideas on fitness," Gavaskar concluded.
India's struggle in white-ball formats
The issue had also drawn a reaction from India skipper Shubman Gill after the team's recent ODI series loss against England. Gill expressed his concerns over the increasing number of recurring injuries, saying that because of the injuries, team management is being forced to change their combinations.