BCCI secretary Saikia likely to meet VVS Laxman during visit to CoE on Sunday
New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Concerned by the mounting spate of injuries that has hit the India men’s team, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will meet Head of Cricket VVS Laxman in Bengaluru on Sunday to take stock of the rehabilitation programme at the Centre of Excellence (CoE).
India will be missing key players like pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (left knee swelling) on their two-game Test tour of Sri Lanka and left-handed batter B Sai Sudharsan (right big toe). Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep are undergoing rehab at the CoE for varied injuries.
White-ball players like Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy are also currently recuperating at the high-performance facility in Bengaluru. The Sports Science team at the CoE has been working under immense pressure, especially without the presence of a permanent sports science head since the departure of Nitin Patel in early 2025.
“Secretary Saikia is already in Bengaluru and he will be taking stock of the situation around injuries by meeting with VVS Laxman. It is yet to be known whether head coach Gautam Gambhir or chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will join that meeting via video conferencing,” said a source familiar with the matter to IANS on Saturday.
The meeting comes at a time when there was initial optimism that both Bumrah and Sudharsan would be fit for at least one Test match. But medical evaluations have revealed that Bumrah still requires time to be fully fit, while Sudharsan continues to feel pain in his big right toe.
Sunday’s high-level meeting could be aimed at deciding seamless recovery pathways for marquee players ahead of upcoming international commitments. It is also understood that a press conference could also be held at the CoE on Sunday to address concerns over recurring injuries in the men’s set-up.
–IANS
nr/hs