AUS vs IND: Should BCCI have handled Rohit Sharma’s injury issue in a better manner?

The Indian Cricket Team, currently preparing for the tour of Australia in the UAE, saw multiple changes being made in the team after the initial announcement of the squad for the tour. There were quite a few names like that of the captain of the team, Virat Kohli missing out on the Test series after being granted paternity leave, and Wriddhiman Saha being doubtful because of an injury concern. But the most curious case of injury management that came up was that of the ace Indian opener, Rohit Sharma.

The concerns regarding his health first came up during the Indian Premier League that was conducted this year in the intense weather conditions of the United Arab Emirates where Rohit sustained an injury in the latter part of the tournament. It was during that time that the BCCI selection committee got together and named the team that would be travelling down under for playing against the Aussies. And, understandably Rohit was excluded from the teams for all three formats with the reason being that the BCCI medical team was observing Rohit’s health.

Just after the team was announced, Rohit Sharma, who in the eyes of the BCCI was clearly not fit was shown in a video by his IPL team, the Mumbai Indians, batting the nets and fit to play for the match. This conflict of claims raised the eyebrows of many and questions regarding BCCI’s injury management policies. And, this is not new for the board. These issues date back to the 2018 Asia Cup when the Board officials were not able to keep the players of the national team at the peak of their health and players like Hardik Pandya broke down in the middle of the tournament.

Just what we love to see! Hitman in action at today’s training ?#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MI #Dream11IPL @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/FBYIyhtcOW

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 26, 2020

BCCI, selectors and players not on the same page?

So, it was thought that under the new administration, with Sourav Ganguly, who has been known to manage his players well, such issues would not pop up. But as it turns out, things have started going back to where it started. Given the fact that the Indian Premier League comes under the full jurisdiction of the BCCI, Rohit could have easily been asked by the board to not play in the tournament’s remaining matches and regain full match fitness in the interest of the Indian team. As the news comes now, from the BCCI, Rohit, who was fit to play in the matches of the Mumbai Indians, is not available to play because of injury concerns.

Also, one feels that BCCI should’ve communicated better in terms of Rohit’s injury and the said player seemed to be not amused with the decision of the selectors to not include him in the line-up. Several speculations were made over the course of two weeks and as it stands, Rohit will be travelling only for the Tests.

He will be missing out on the T20 and One Day International series because of injury niggles joining the team later after regaining full fitness. Everyone knows the importance of the team’s tour to Australia. And, such levels of uncertainty in squad selection, with changes being made in the team every 15 days, shows that there are certain policy changes that the board needs to implement in order to make sure such issues do not plague the team in the future.

Workloads need to be managed and steps need to be taken before things get out of hand and further damage is done to the team. And BCCI clearly needs to do better in terms of communication when it comes to player’s injury management.