On September 1, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for T20I series against Afghanistan. As many as four players' participation is subject to fitness including pace-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and pacer Harshit Rana. Reportedly, the Centre of Excellence (CoE) has decided to take a cautious approach before declaring a player fit, especially after Rana's return which was cut-short on UK tour.
“Not just 100 per cent, but they want to be 200 per cent confident about a player’s availability before releasing him,” a BCCI source told Cricbuzz.
Late injury replacements in recent times
On the England tour, an unfit Rana was replaced by Prince Yadav. In the ODI series decider against England, captain Shubman Gill had expressed concern over players’ fitness. He also revealed that it hinders with team’s plans and preparation.
Recently, Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were ruled out of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka with Auqib Nabi and Sarfaraz Khan named as replacement. On the UK tour, Reddy was replaced by Suryansh Shedge whereas Bishnoi came in for Chakaravarthy for Zimbabwe series as well.
How Laxman addressed the controversial issue?
Earlier, CoE head VVS Laxman had addressed the concerns over players' fitness and them being ruled out after they were named in the squad. Laxman simply pointed out that there is a clear communication between the team management and CoE. A player is picked weeks before a series at times and some of them are included with their participation subject to fitness. If they don't clear the fitness test, they are bound to be ruled out of the series or tournament.
"At the end of the selection, whether it's a release to the press, it's clearly mentioned that these players are picked subject to fitness. Means if they don't clear the fitness test, the selectors will know who are the other players who will go in their place if they don't clear the fitness test. I mean, it's basic common sense," Laxman had said in a media interaction.
Reddy, Sundar not to be hurried back
Reddy had suffered a quadriceps injury that ruled him out of UK and Zimbabwe tours. Sundar also missed the final ODI of the series against England and was subsequently ruled out of Zimbabwe T20I series. As far as Reddy is concerned, the report further reveals that 'The CoE will not take chances' before declaring players fit.
They have more than a week to recover for the T20I series which begins on September 13 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.