On Sunday, VVS Laxman, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), commended Indian cricketer Virat Kohli for his professionalism and role model status. Laxman’s remarks highlight Kohli’s significant contributions to the sport, emphasizing his exemplary conduct both on and off the field. This recognition comes at a time when Kohli continues to be a pivotal figure in Indian cricket, inspiring younger players and maintaining high standards in performance.
Key Factors
Monitoring is very, very critical, and I’ve got no doubt that Adrian Le Roux (S&C coach, Indian team) and others are doing that,” the 51-year-old added. It may take 14 days or 28 days. Adding to that, white ball experts Hardik Pandya (quadriceps), Varun Chakravarthy (hamstring) and Prince Yadav (hamstring) are also at the Centre of Excellence where the Sports Science team is overworked without a figure head since the resignation of Nitin Patel in early 2025.
There are also rumours that COE and the current selection committee has always not been in sync with regards to the injury management timelines and some of the players being released before they ticked all the boxes. Because by the time the player will have to travel or play, he may be totally fit, “We don’t reject. India will be missing the services of Jasprit Bumrah (knee swelling), B Sai Sudharsan (left foot big toe), Harshit Rana (hamstring), Nitish Kumar Reddy (hamstring) and Washington Sundar (quadriceps) due to various injuries.
He stressed that Kohli consistently sets very high standards for himself and strives to meet them every time he plays, inspiring young cricketers and teammates to emulate him. “There’s brilliant coordination between the CoE, the team management and the SSM (Sports Science & Medicine) staff. There has been a worrying trend of players being declared fit only to pick up a new injury within a short period of time. “Injuries are bound to happen. If you’re thinking about not getting injured, you’re not playing to the best of your ability. Both Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were named conditionally in the squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka before failing to obtain fitness clearances. Asked if it would be prudent to avoid players who are still undergoing rehabilitation, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia replied in the negative. It’s a human body, not a machine. Akash Deep (lower back stress fracture) has been out for the longest time since Bengal’s Ranji Trophy semi-final defeat. Right now the challenge is to get all these players back on the park. Sudharsan and Bumrah were enlisted in the squad subject to fitness but COE’s team of experts decided to exercise caution looking at the bigger picture. “Yes, secretary Saikia will be in Bengaluru to take a stock of the situation along with VVS Laxman. There is a meeting scheduled between the two. It is not known whether head coach of national team Gautam Gambhir or chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will join online or not.
“We don’t like to use the word blame, because when you do, you’re [trying to] find a scapegoat,” Laxman told reporters at the CoE premises on Sunday. Laxman stressed that this was not a cause for concern even as he clarified that the “CoE was not a rehab centre” and that it had a “bigger mandate”. “When someone is playing at the elite level, you’re supposed to give more than 100%,” Laxman said. “We have our selection meetings at least three to four weeks before the team departs,” Saikia said. It will be interesting if both Saikia and Laxman can front up and answer a few media queries with so many conjectures,” a BCCI source in the know told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Concerned with the spate of injuries that has rocked Indian team of late, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will be meeting Head Of Cricket VVS Laxman on Sunday to take a stock of the rehabilitation management programme at the Centre of Excellence (COE).
Evidence and Data
“I think there is no doubt that Virat is an exemplary professional. “And that’s why he is a great role model. And I think a lot of youngsters or players want to emulate him,” he added. With Indian cricket in the throes of an injury crisis, the latest being Jasprit Bumrah and B. Sai Sudharsan’s absence from the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka, V.V.S. Laxman, head of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), defended the institution’s injury-management methods and recovery protocols.
And the standards he sets for himself are something which he tries and goes out every time he plays (for) whichever team to meet those standards,” Laxman told the reporters at a press conference in Bengaluru on Sunday.
What It Means
However once the dust settled down, it was found that Bumrah, post impact injury is finding that there is water retention in his knee which requires more time to heal.
