India's Cricket Team Fitness Concerns Emerge After ODI Series Defeat

NEW DELHI: India’s ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill expressed concern over his team’s fitness standards after the ODI series defeat in England. A string of players breaking down before or during series has repeatedly left the team hamstrung over the past year. Gill suggested that India might be missing a trick in managing players’ fitness. His comments have brought into focus the breakdown of a system built on coordination between the Indian team management and the Centre of Excellence (CoE). Not long ago, India had all their key players fit and available for three ICC events in 2023, 2024 and 2025. TOI understands that some senior players are struggling to adapt to a new system following a change in personnel last year. The most worrying aspect has been the recurrence of hamstring injuries. “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 said. The CoE has not appointed a head of medical staff since Nitin Patel left. “There has been no update to the SOPs drawn up in 2023. Data collection has become more robust, but acting on it has become slower,” the source added.

Players pushed without clear plan

During Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach, the BCCI medical team, the CoE and the team management had charted out year-long roadmaps for individual players around major ICC events. The objective was to get each player to the required fitness level in time for the next ICC tournament or marquee Test series. The recurring injuries suffered by Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy have not gone down well with the BCCI. Sources said Reddy was being pushed to bowl close to 140kmph to compensate for the injury-prone Hardik Pandya. “Reddy worked with English bowling coach Stefan Jones to increase his pace. But that needs to be a gradual process when he is with the team leading up to a big event. Instead, he is pushing himself to bowl faster whenever he is with the team,” the source said. “It’s a bit concerning how Harshit was cleared by the CoE at the insistence of the team management when he had not attained his pre-knee-injury weight. These things need more care,” the source added. TOI also understands that Washington Sundar too may have been rushed to join the T20 World Cup squad in Feb this year. “Washington required a good 10 days to be fit to play a match after joining the squad. He was pushed by the team management to get ready during a tournament. It may have taken its toll. Team can ask for players but the medical team needs to present a clear picture,” the source claimed. Jasprit Bumrah, for instance, is a special case for BCCI. Even with his history, he is barely pushed to hit high speeds months away from a marquee assignment. His loads are gradually increased to reach the desired level when the assignment arrives. Akash Deep, who had barely broken down he shouldered the responsibility of Bengal’s pace attack in multiple Ranji Trophy campaigns, couldn’t bear the load of two Test matches on the bounce since returning from injury in last year’s IPL. “Akash broke down with his hamstring in between Tests in England last year. He then again was cleared domestic cricket. He played till Bengal lost the Ranji semifinal and has been out with stress fracture since. Coe needs to see why these things are happening,” the source mentioned. “It has to be seen if the injury preventive measures are implemented properly. As for Gill, he too struggled with hamstring in the recent ODI series in England after crossing 50 in two matches.

Little support between assignments

It is learnt that several players are anxious about the limited communication from the BCCI’s medical team when they are not travelling with the national side. “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. The most recent example is Rohit Sharma’s hamstring problem during the IPL. When the Mumbai Indians management struggled to identify the issue for nearly a month, Rohit took the initiative and consulted records in the BCCI database, which had monitored him when he played all three formats. The team management is also concerned about Washington Sundar breaking down repeatedly. It is understood that although Reddy, Rana and Washington are young, they spend a significant amount of time with physios recovering from injuries. “Besides Washington, who has always had fitness issues, it is concerning to see Sanju Samson putting on weight so easily. It is a result of the gap in the system. 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,” the source added.