BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has said that although physios from the Centre of Excellence are monitoring players’ workloads across IPL franchises, the board cannot interfere on all occasions, as fears have arisen over Varun Chakravarthy’s appearance for Kolkata Knight Riders despite a reported hairline fracture.
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There is a general understanding that for all contracted players, the franchise physio keeps the India physio informed and BCCI can flag teams if a cricketer risks aggravating an injury.
Chakravarthy appeared to struggle through his entire spell against the Gujarat Titans, prompting questions over why Abhishek Nayar and the support staff chose to field him despite a hairline fracture.
“So far as IPL is concerned, franchises take care of the injuries and fitness of the players. Of course, physios from COE are also monitoring them, workload as well as planning on how to keep them fit,” Saikia said while speaking to the media.
“The monitoring is there, but when IPL is going on, we can’t interfere too much. Had it been an Indian team situation, our control would have been more. Now we are giving freedom to franchises to take a call on the players,” Saikia added.
Chakravarthy, being seen hobbling in pain while continuing to bowl, hasn’t gone down well with those associated with the Indian team, with India all set to play seven T20Is across Dublin and England in June.
“I know for a fact that KKR physio is in touch with Team India physio (Kamlesh Jain). There has been a communication from KKR to BCCI that in a previous match, Varun injured his left foot while saving a boundary,” a senior BCCI official said while speaking to PTI.
“It is understood that he has a hairline fracture. I believe that as a centrally contracted player of the BCCI, his fitness is paramount and the BCCI medical team could intervene,” the official added.
