Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned India’s injury-management system, citing Varun Chakravarthy’s rehabilitation and calling for larger accountability on the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned the injury-management structure surrounding Indian cricket, calling for larger accountability whereas highlighting the prolonged rehabilitation of spinner Varun Chakravarthy on the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Ashwin’s feedback come at a time when the CoE has faced increasing scrutiny over the variety of accidents affecting Indian gamers, rehabilitation timelines and communication between the ability and the national choice committee. Recent studies have also highlighted concerns surrounding the provision of several key gamers.
Talking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin advised that Indian cricket could must reconsider how gamers are managed throughout the three international formats. He believes separate squads for Test, ODI and T20I cricket may help handle workloads extra effectively, whereas permitting a small variety of gamers to maneuver between formats.
“I think the time has come to make separate groups for Exams, ODIs and T20Is. There is perhaps cross-pollination of 1 or two gamers.”
Ashwin also careworn {that a} stronger system of accountability is required in relation to managing participant accidents.
“Somewhere down the line there must be accountability for harm administration.”
His feedback have added one other layer to an ongoing debate across the BCCI’s high-performance structure and the position of the Centre of Excellence in preparing gamers for a return to competitive cricket.
Ashwin Highlights Varun Chakravarthy’s Rehabilitation
One of the main examples raised by Ashwin was Varun Chakravarthy.
In response to Ashwin, Chakravarthy spent several months on the Nationwide Cricket Academy, now operating as a part of the BCCI Centre of Excellence, throughout his rehabilitation. Ashwin said there had been discussions about permitting the spinner to play within the Tamil Nadu Premier League, however permission was not granted on the time.
“I know that Varun Chakravarthy was on the NCA for the last three to four months. We had been asking for permission for the TNPL, and they didn’t launch him,” Ashwin said.
He questioned why the rehabilitation period had stretched for several months when he believed Chakravarthy may potentially have returned earlier.
“He should have returned in a month, however he was there for 2 to 3 months,” Ashwin added.
Chakravarthy subsequently returned to international cricket however suffered one other setback. After playing within the first T20I in opposition to Afghanistan, he was dominated out of the remaining matches after sustaining a fresh aspect pressure. He had only not too long ago recovered from a hamstring harm suffered throughout India’s England tour.
The recurrence has naturally intensified discussion about rehabilitation, workload administration and the method used to determine when a participant is able to return.
Communication Hole Between CoE and Selectors
The problem goes beyond particular person accidents.
A PTI report in August highlighted an alleged communication disconnect between the CoE’s sports activities science and medical groups and India’s senior choice committee. The report cited Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability for the Sri Lanka Test series as an example, with selectors reportedly expecting him to be out there before his recovery timeline became clearer.
A digital assembly involving senior CoE officials, including VVS Laxman, and choice committee chairman Ajit Agarkar was subsequently held to discuss injury-management issues concerning centrally contracted gamers.
However, the CoE leadership has disputed the suggestion that there is a communication hole.
VVS Laxman said in August that there was no communication drawback between the CoE, selectors and the Indian staff administration. He also explained that the ability’s duties extend beyond rehabilitation, overlaying areas including high performance, sports activities science, sports activities medicine and training.
That distinction is necessary as a result of the present debate shouldn’t be merely about whether or not gamers are getting injured. It also concerns how accidents are assessed, how rehabilitation is monitored and the way details about a participant’s availability reaches selectors and staff administration.
BCCI’s Sports activities Science Leadership Underneath Focus
One other problem surrounding the CoE has been the vacant Head of Sports activities Science and Drugs position.
Nitin Patel left the position in 2025, and the BCCI subsequently faced difficulties in appointing a permanent replacement. During the interim period, senior physiotherapist Dhananjay Kaushik has been handling duties related to the position.
In September, the BCCI reportedly started one other seek for a permanent Head of Sports activities Science and Drugs following elevated scrutiny of its injury-management system. Concerns have included rehabilitation durations, health assessments and coordination with the selection committee.
The BCCI itself has described the CoE as a comprehensive high-performance facility quite than merely a rehabilitation centre. Its said process involves diagnosing accidents, managing rehabilitation and ultimately clearing gamers after return-to-play matches, depending on the nature of the harm.
Ashwin Says Players Additionally Have Duty
Whereas Ashwin questioned the system, he didn’t place your entire responsibility on medical and sports-science professionals.
The former India spinner argued that gamers themselves should study their coaching strategies and physical workload. In response to Ashwin, harm prevention is partly dependent on whether or not athletes are performing exercises appropriate for their bodies and requirements.
He used his own playing profession as an example.
“As a participant, you also have to see that your coaching technique is right. Am I doing the correct exercises?” Ashwin said.
He recalled suffering a aspect pressure in 2015 and attributed it to Olympic lifting.
“The only aspect pressure I suffered in 2015 was because of Olympic lifting. After that, I stopped snatching,” he explained.
His level underlines the complexity of harm prevention in professional cricket. Medical groups can monitor gamers and establish rehabilitation programmes, however coaching loads, recovery, conditioning and particular person selections also influence a participant’s physical situation.
India’s Harm Record Provides to the Concern
The discussion has gained momentum as a result of accidents have affected several Indian gamers throughout a demanding international schedule.
Varun Chakravarthy’s newest setback got here after his return from a hamstring harm. Harshit Rana has also faced one other health setback, whereas gamers including Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have dealt with injury-related interruptions throughout 2026.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has also acknowledged the rising harm record and its influence on staff continuity. A often altering playing XI could make long-term planning harder, significantly with main international assignments forward.
For Ashwin, subsequently, the issue shouldn’t be merely about one participant’s harm or one rehabilitation programme. His feedback level in the direction of a broader query: whether or not India’s current multi-format structure, workload administration and injury-monitoring processes must evolve.
What Occurs Next for India’s Harm-Management System?
Ashwin’s remarks are likely to keep the deal with the BCCI Centre of Excellence and its injury-management processes.
The debate now involves several interconnected areas: communication between the CoE and selectors, rehabilitation timelines, return-to-play protocols, workload monitoring and the duties of particular person gamers.
The BCCI has already faced questions over its sports-science leadership and has moved to address the vacant senior position. In the meantime, the CoE maintains that it has established protocols for harm rehabilitation and participant monitoring.
For Indian cricket, the challenge will be to make sure that gamers are not only declared fit however are also bodily prepared to handle the demands of international cricket as soon as they return.
Ashwin’s intervention has brought that query firmly again into the spotlight. With India managing three formats and a packed international calendar, harm prevention, clear communication and carefully monitored workloads are likely to remain main speaking points within the months forward.
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