VVS Laxman has defended the BCCI Centre of Excellence's (COE) injury clearance and rehabilitation process amid growing scrutiny over Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan's fitness.
Laxman rejected the suggestions of an accountability breakdown, saying the process is objective, data-driven and involves seamless coordination between the COE, team management, sports science and medicine staff, and the selection committee.
The rising injury concerns have also led to criticism of the way the COE operates, with some questioning whether players who are not fully fit are being cleared to join the national team.
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"I think we don't like to use the word 'blame', because when you are using 'blame', then you are finding someone as a scapegoat. I don't think... so maybe I don't know what you all feel, and you start blaming because of this and because of that," Laxman, The Head of Cricket at the BCCI COE, said.
"But there is a brilliant coordination between the COE, between the team management of both the teams, and the SSM (Sports Science and Medicine) staff of both the teams, and the selection committee," he added, addressing the media.
Responding to scrutiny over whether the Centre of Excellence cleared players prematurely or whether the selection panel picked players without complete fitness clearance, Laxman firmly rejected attempts to turn the issue into a blame game.
The protocol surrounding squad announcements, Laxman explained, requires clear, transparent communication between all stakeholders when a player is working through a recovery program.
"When we send a fitness status report, the process is that the selector reaches out to the COE asking for the fitness status report. We collect the current fitness status and send a fitness status report to the selection committee chairman or chairperson in the women's selection committee, with a copy to the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI," Laxman said.
"Now, Bumrah and Sai Sudarshan, is always an asterisk. When the media release comes from the BCCI, there is an asterisk attached to a player selection. And what does that asterisk mean? It means 'subject to fitness."
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Laxman said it is not technically right to say the player was selected and then recalled as selection was done with a condition that the player has to prove complete fitness yet.
"So Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were going to be picked... subject to fitness clearance. You assess them, you move them from one stage to the next stage, and if the progression is slow, you communicate to the selection committee chairman and the head coach, which is happening seamlessly."
"They understand that they are not yet ready to participate in an international series. It is always player-centric and team-centric," he concluded.
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