‘Players not machines, co-ordination between CoE, management great’

Putting up a stout defence of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, its chief VVS Laxman on Sunday said the center should not be blamed for slow recovery of players, as cricketers are not “machines” who meet recuperation timelines every time.

Laxman asserted that there is “seamless” coordination between CoE and team management. Strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounders Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan are some of the players who have been recuperating from their respective injuries at the CoE at present.

“See, CoE is not just a rehab centre, but there are bigger roles to play for it in helping cricketers achieve excellence. So, we don’t like to use the term ‘blame’ (for injuries) because when you’re using that term, then you’re finding someone as a scapegoat,” Laxman told select media at the CoE.

“But there’s brilliant coordination between the CoE and the team management of both the teams (men and women) and the SSM staff of both the teams. So that communication is happening seamlessly.” Laxman said given the stringent fitness parameters and nature of the human body, it’s tough for a player to attain full fitness at a specific timeline.

“This is where I think it’s very important to understand that the guidelines and the timelines are given based on what you expect. But it’s the human body. It is not a machine where the timelines will always be met.

“So there’s a continuous process of understanding how a player is progressing and based on that, the load is increased. So that’s a process from the time they are diagnosed with the injury to the time they leave the CoE and declare fit,” he explained. Laxman put his finger on the cases of Bumrah and Sudharsan to explain his point. “Now you’re talking about Bumrah and Sai Sudarshan. The process is that the selector reaches out to the CoE asking for the fitness status report and we collect it and send it to the selection committee chairman or chairperson in women’s selection committee with a copy to the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI. “Now Bumrah and Sudarshan, there’s always an asterisk against their name. It means subject to fitness. So Bumrah and Sudarshan were going to be picked for Sri Lanka subject to fitness clearance.

“As I told before, we assess them, move them from one stage to the next stage and if the progression is slow, you communicate to the selection committee chairman and the head coach, which is happening seamlessly, and they understand that they’re not yet ready to participate in an international series,” he detailed. But isn’t it a massive concern to see a large pool of players getting consistently injured?

The former Indian cricketer downplayed the sequence and said injuries are part and parcel of a player’s career. “I don’t think it’s a cause of concern. But obviously, when someone is playing at the elite level, you’re supposed to give more than 100%. “So I think ultimately, injuries are part and parcel of any player. So, if you’re thinking about not getting injured, then you’re not playing to the best of your ability,” he said.

The 51-year-old said the way outside world see injuries to players should be changed. “So I think one thing which should be addressed and I think that’s changed dramatically, is how you see injury. Do you see injury as a negative thing?

Or do you think injury is part and parcel? “I think that’s why the monitoring system is very critical. And I’ve got no doubt that Adrian and Nick or Kamlesh (fitness staff at the BCCI CoE) are doing that,” he noted. So, how do they arrive at the decision to release a player after rehabilitation from a specific injury? “We have set certain parameters with the SSM and S&C process.

Until and unless those benchmarks are not met, or in fact got better, we don’t release (the players).  “The whole idea is that when he goes back to the Indian team, men and women, or wherever, including the state teams or whatever teams he is participating, from the first match, he should be able to perform to the best of his potential.”