The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) has introduced a new initiative called the Performance Block, aimed at ensuring centrally contracted players remain at their peak throughout the year beside being used solely for injury rehabilitation.
The programme is designed to provide Team India players with specialised coaching and skill-development opportunities whenever required, while also becoming a key component of the return-to-play process for injured cricketers.
According to sources, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has become one of the first high-profile players to opt for the programme, choosing to focus on long-term preparation rather than rushing back for the upcoming ODI series against England. Fast bowler
Harshit Rana, meanwhile, is understood to be the first player to have completed rehabilitation and been declared fully fit under the new system.
What Is ‘Performance Block’?
“The CoE was largely a rehab centre for international cricketers. The cricketing programmes were restricted to age-group and zonal camps. Now, India players can come at any time and have very specialised sessions to work on minute things in their game. There will be a dedicated coaching staff working with the players. Also, under this programme, an injured player can only be cleared as fit to play for India if he is playing to his potential,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying to TOI.
“Hardik is very clear in his mind that he won’t take the field for India unless at the top of his game — both physically and cricket wise. He doesn’t want to push himself and jeopardise his body with the ODI World Cup 16 months away. He contacted CoE and joined the performance block. He wants to work on specific cricket skills besides attaining prime fitness,” the source added.
Under the programme, rehabilitation is no longer limited to physical recovery. Fast bowlers, for example, are assessed on performance quality as workloads gradually increase. Even after regaining fitness, players may have their return delayed if they are unable to perform effectively under match-like demands.
“Hardik hasn’t played a lot of 50-over cricket in the last two years. He needs to get certain aspects right before diving back into that format,” the source said.
