India’s growing injury list has sparked plenty of debate but former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the Bengaluru Centre of Excellence (CoE) is being unfairly blamed for the problem.
Several prominent Indian players, including Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan and Hardik Pandya, are currently dealing with injuries. Some experts and fans have questioned whether the CoE is sending players back into action before they have fully completed their rehabilitation.
Sunil Gavaskar, however, has defended the physios and staff at the BCCI’s CoE. He pointed out that most of these injuries occur while players are representing India rather than during their rehabilitation at the CoE.
The former India batter noted that hamstring problems have become particularly common among Indian players. While Bumrah is dealing with a knee injury, Gavaskar believes the repeated hamstring issues could indicate that something needs to be examined in the players’ training routines.
According to him, the recurring injuries deserve a serious investigation rather than simply putting the blame on the CoE’s medical staff. He also questioned some of the modern workload-management practices used during training, including restrictions on how many deliveries bowlers can send down in the practice nets.
Sunil Gavaskar further questioned whether spending long hours in the gym every day is the best measure of fitness for professional cricketers. In his view, being ready to perform in actual matches should be given greater importance than simply being physically fit inside a gym.
He acknowledged that his views may be influenced by the fitness methods used during his playing generation but insisted that the repeated injuries need to be examined carefully to understand why they continue to occur.
The issue has also frustrated India captain Shubman Gill. Following India’s ODI series defeat to England, Shubman Gill expressed concern over the growing injury list and admitted that constantly changing the playing XI because of injuries was far from ideal for the team.
With several key players continuing to deal with fitness problems, India now face growing questions over player workloads, training methods, rehabilitation and how best to keep their stars available for important matches.
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