No update in fitness SOP since 2023: BCCI CoE under the scanner after fitness issues in India camp

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No update in fitness SOP since 2023: BCCI CoE under the scanner after fitness issues in India camp originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:​

• BCCI's fitness protocols have been unchanged since 2023 despite rising injuries.
• CoE lacks permanent medical head since Nitin Patel's departure.
• Players report poor communication, rushed comebacks, and workload gaps.

BCCI's CoE faces tough questions after India's injury crisis​

Shubman Gill had flagged worries about India's physical conditioning following their ODI series loss in England, with a recurring pattern of players breaking down before and during the series putting the spotlight on the systems meant to prevent exactly this.

Gill's remarks have pulled back the curtain on cracks forming in the coordination between India's team management and the Centre of Excellence, the body responsible for player conditioning.

Not too long ago, India managed to field a fully fit core squad across three consecutive ICC events in 2023, 2024, and 2025. However, according to The Times of India, several senior players have found it difficult to adjust to a revamped system following personnel changes made last year, with hamstring injuries emerging as the most persistent and troubling issue.

According to a BCCI insider, the wave of recent hamstring problems hints that players may not have been genuinely match-fit before taking the field.

“The flurry of recent hamstring injuries suggests that the players may not have been absolutely fit before taking the field. There seems to be a gap in communication about a player’s fitness status and workload between the CoE and the team management,” a BCCI source told ToI.

MORE: 'We need to improve our fitness': Shubman Gill worries whether India stars can last the 2027 ODI World Cup without injuries

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Players pushed onto the battlefield without a clear roadmap​

The CoE has gone without a permanent head of medical staff since Nitin Patel's exit, and the standard operating procedures established back in 2023 haven't been revised since, even though data collection methods have improved considerably.

During Rahul Dravid's time as head coach, the BCCI's medical team worked alongside the CoE and team management to build year-long fitness roadmaps tailored to individual players, aligning their peak conditioning with major ICC tournaments or key Test series.

That structured approach appears to have weakened, with the recurring injuries suffered by Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy causing particular concern within the board.

The report further mentioned that Reddy has been pushing himself to bowl close to 140 kmph in an effort to compensate for the injury-prone Hardik Pandya. While he had worked with English bowling coach Stefan Jones to build up that extra pace, insiders stressed that such progression needs to happen gradually rather than being forced whenever he's with the national team.

Similarly, questions have been raised over how the CoE cleared Rana at team management's request despite not having returned to his pre-injury weight following his knee problem.

MORE: Full list of injuries suffered by India stars in 2026 as Shubman Gill raises alarm bells over Indian cricket's fitness

Washington Sundar's rushed return and other red flags​

Washington Sundar's case has also drawn scrutiny, with reports suggesting he may have been rushed into India's T20 World Cup squad back in February without adequate preparation time. He reportedly needed around ten days after joining the squad just to be ready for a match, yet was pushed to get there mid-tournament instead.

By contrast, Jasprit Bumrah is treated with far greater caution given his injury history, with his workload increased gradually well ahead of major assignments rather than being rushed to top speed early.

Akash Deep's situation tells a similar cautionary tale, having broken down with a hamstring issue during Tests in England last year, only to be cleared for domestic cricket afterwards, where he continued playing until Bengal's Ranji Trophy campaign ended.

However, he has since been sidelined with a stress fracture. Even Gill himself dealt with hamstring discomfort during the recent England series after crossing fifty on two occasions.

MORE: Explained: Why Bumrah missed the India vs England 3rd ODI at Lord's

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Players left without support between international tours​

Beyond match-time injuries, there's growing anxiety among players over the lack of communication from the medical team during gaps between international assignments.

“These days, there are very few all-format players. Most players get decent breaks between international assignments. If they are not undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE, they are left on their own. There is little communication,” the source said.

Rohit Sharma's hamstring issue during the IPL serves as a telling example, where Mumbai Indians' management struggled for nearly a month to diagnose the problem, until Rohit himself took the initiative to dig through BCCI's database, which held historical records from when he played across all three formats.

Concerns have also grown around Sanju Samson's fluctuating fitness, alongside Sundar's repeated setbacks, with sources suggesting this reflects a broader systemic gap rather than isolated incidents.

"The overall fielding standard has dropped because of these fitness issues,” the source said.

“The players require more a more hands-on empathetic approach from the medical team. At the moment, most seasoned international cricketers are reluctant to seek CoE’s intervention. They prefer to train at their own arrangements elsewhere. This needs to be addressed."

A fixable problem that needs urgent attention​

What stands out most here isn't the injuries themselves, sport inevitably carries physical risk, but rather the apparent absence of updated protocols and clear accountability at a body meant to prevent exactly this outcome.

Keeping the same protocols in place since 2023, even as workloads and the international calendar have only grown busier, tells you this system is still running on assumptions that stopped being true a while ago. And look at how differently players are treated: Bumrah gets handled with kid gloves, while others get cleared in a hurry. That's not a framework; that's guesswork dressed up as policy.

When experienced pros start avoiding the CoE and training on their own instead, that's not a minor detail; that's the clearest sign possible that trust in the system has broken down.

None of this needs some grand overhaul either. Just proper leadership, protocols that actually get updated, and departments that talk to each other. For an organisation with the kind of money and resources the BCCI has, that really shouldn't be this hard to get right.

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