The BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru is designed to bring together the different elements of elite performance — from cricket coaching and sports science to sports medicine, strength and conditioning and technology.

During a media interaction at the CoE, BCCI Head of Cricket VVS Laxman and Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia spoke at length about the processes followed in managing player injuries, monitoring workloads and maintaining fitness across the Indian cricket pathway.

Addressing questions around injuries and rehabilitation, Mr Laxman said the CoE's work begins with understanding the nature of an injury and continues until the player is ready to return to competitive cricket.

"The process starts with diagnosing the injury and finishes with a player being declared fit after the two RTP matches we have," Mr Laxman said.

Depending on the nature of the injury, the initial assessment may involve the Indian team's medical staff and specialist consultation. Once the diagnosis is established and the player reports to the CoE, the rehabilitation programme moves through different phases, starting with medical and physiotherapy intervention before progressing to strength and conditioning, cricket-specific skills and a gradual increase in workload.

"And then we build up the load. And then we play two RTP matches before we declare the player fit," Mr Laxman said.

The return-to-play process is benchmark-driven, with the CoE using data to assess whether a player has reached the required physical and skill levels before being cleared.

"Until and unless the benchmark is met, or in fact got better, we don't release. So that's the benchmark we use to declare a player fit," he said.

The objective, Mr Laxman added, is to ensure that when a player returns to the Indian team or competitive cricket, he or she is ready to perform from the outset.

"From the first match, he has been able to perform to the best of his potential."

However, he stressed that rehabilitation timelines cannot always be fixed.

"It's a 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."

Monitoring players beyond the CoE

Mr Laxman also addressed questions around players working with individual trainers and said there was a structured system in place to monitor players across the different levels of Indian cricket.

The strength and conditioning staff with the Indian teams are responsible for centrally contracted players, while the CoE's S&C staff monitor targeted and age-group players. The information is captured through the Athlete Management System (AMS), with GPS technology also used to track player activity and workloads.

"Everything is there on the AMS. Every session of the player is there on the AMS," Mr Laxman said.

"Wherever the player is, whatever he's doing, it's documented."

Mr Laxman said the Indian men's and women's teams have experienced strength and conditioning professionals working closely with the players and emphasised the importance of coordination and trust between the players and performance staff.

"I think the trust and the coordination between the S&C and the players, as far as my knowledge is concerned, is going on."

Technology has also helped the CoE monitor the workloads of fast bowlers, particularly when players are away from the facility.

Mr Laxman said one of the key learnings from workload monitoring was that injuries are not necessarily caused by bowlers doing too much. In some cases, the risk can arise when bowlers are not sufficiently prepared for the demands placed on them.

"Our learning is that stress injuries or injuries happen not because a fast bowler is bowling too much. It happens that the fast bowler is not bowling enough," he said.

The CoE therefore sets an individual workload range for fast bowlers and monitors their bowling loads on a weekly basis.

"There's a sweet spot we have for each and every fast bowler across the contracted, the targeted and the Under-19s, and there's a weekly monitoring of that load."

‘Injury is part and parcel of elite sport’

While acknowledging that modern players are required to play significantly more cricket than previous generations, Mr Laxman said injuries were an unavoidable part of elite sport.

"There's no doubt that the modern generation of players has to play a lot more cricket than I used to play the game, obviously with the addition of T20 and the three formats," he said.

"But when someone is playing at the elite level, you're supposed to give more than 100%. If you're not, then you're not doing justice to the role or for what purpose you're selected in the team."

Mr Laxman said the focus should be on helping players understand their workloads, monitoring them effectively and continually improving systems rather than expecting injuries to be eliminated altogether.

"Even though you do that, playing at the highest level, you can get injured. So if you're thinking about not getting injured, then you're not playing to the best of your ability."

He added: "One thing which should be addressed is how you see injury. Do you see injury as a negative thing? Or do you think injury is part and parcel?"

Monitoring becomes particularly important for players who have high physical demands, including allrounders. Mr Laxman cited Nitish Kumar Reddy's case while explaining the importance of helping players understand how to manage their workloads.

"Being an all-rounder, obviously there is a lot of workload on him and how he becomes fitter — not only when he is playing various tournaments but also when he is not part of any tournaments."

The CoE also conducts pre-season screening for contracted and targeted players, who undergo a series of fitness assessments and field-based tests. Mr Laxman highlighted the introduction of the Bronco Test, which can also be used during the season as part of a conditioning session.

"While you are playing, it is very important for you to remain fit," he said.

‘Subject to fitness’ and seamless communication

Mr Laxman also sought to clarify the process followed when players undergoing rehabilitation are named in squads subject to fitness clearance.

He said there was close coordination between the CoE, team management, medical and sports science staff, the selectors and the BCCI.

"We don't like to use the word blame because when you're using the name, then you're finding someone as a scapegoat," Mr Laxman said. "There's a brilliant coordination between the CoE, between the team management of both the teams and the SSM staff of both the teams and the selection committee."

The CoE provides fitness status reports to the relevant selection committee, with copies also shared with the head coach and the BCCI.

Mr Laxman explained that an asterisk next to a player's name in a BCCI squad announcement indicates that the player has been selected subject to fitness clearance.

"When the media release comes from the BCCI, there's an asterisk attached to a player selection. And what does that asterisk mean? It means subject to fitness."

The status can change depending on how a player progresses through rehabilitation. If the progression is slower than expected, the CoE communicates this to the selectors and team management.

"Always it's player-centric and team-centric. So that communication is happening seamlessly," Mr Laxman said.

Mr Saikia added that selection meetings are generally held three to four weeks before a team departs, which means a player undergoing rehabilitation may still have time to regain fitness before the series begins.

"We do not outrightly reject him because on the date of selection, he is not fit," Mr Saikia said. "But by the time it will be effectively required for travel or to play the match, by that time he may be totally fit."

That uncertainty is also why the final assessment has to be based on the player's progress rather than a fixed timetable.

"As VVS has said, it is a human body. It is not a machine. He may take 14 days' time or he may take 28 days' time, subject to his own body composition."

Search continues for the right specialist

Mr Laxman and Mr Saikia also addressed the search for a replacement for the position previously held by Nitin Patel.

Mr Laxman said the BCCI had undertaken an extensive interview process, but finding a candidate with the required experience and expertise remained important.

"The lookout is there, but you have to find someone who is qualified and capable enough to take up that position," Mr Laxman said."We will quite definitely fill that position and the suitable candidate has to be identified."

He said the BCCI was also looking to upskill existing personnel at the CoE while continuing the search for the right candidate.

"The process is on. It is not that the BCCI is not looking for a suitable candidate, but you have to find the right candidate."

Mr Saikia said finding someone with the required expertise was challenging because of the limited number of suitable professionals available. "There are very limited persons, not only in India but across the world," he said. "In spite of repeated processes being done, we are not getting the right candidate. But the process is on to find the right candidate."

A culture of standards and continuous improvement

Mr Laxman also spoke about the culture the CoE is seeking to create, pointing to players who set high standards through their approach and professionalism.

"There is no doubt that Virat is an exemplary professional. The standards he sets for himself is something which he tries and meets each and every time he plays, whichever team," Mr Laxman said.

"That's why he is a great role model. A lot of youngsters or players want to emulate him."

For Mr Laxman, the success of a high-performance system is not measured solely by trophies but also by the processes it establishes and the players it helps develop.

"Trophies are a by-product of what systems and processes you set," he said. "Those systems and processes are something which is in your control."

He described the development of the new CoE as a significant milestone, particularly in providing players across different levels of the game with access to world-class infrastructure.

"From April to September, the entire infrastructure of such a big scale is filled with players," he said, referring to the presence of players ranging from Under-15 and Under-16 cricketers to centrally contracted men's and women's players and other targeted players.

"To see them work on their game, to see them get better each and every day, it can't be more meaningful than what I've experienced."

Mr Saikia also addressed the issue of spectators at matches held at the CoE, explaining that restrictions attached to the use of the campus do not permit crowds at the venue. “There are some restrictions while this land was adopted here, it was said that we cannot have crowds here in the campus. So that is a government restriction and we cannot violate that. However, we’ve increased the number of matches being telecast live to give fans greater access to domestic cricket,” he added.

The BCCI is also open to considering the possibility of hosting the final elsewhere if required. "We still have time. We'll look into that aspect."

The discussions at the CoE underlined the complexity of managing elite cricketers in a calendar that spans international, domestic and franchise cricket. From diagnosis and rehabilitation to workload monitoring and return to play, the focus, Mr Laxman said, remains on helping players meet the demands of the game while ensuring that the systems supporting them continue to evolve.