Photo via The Times of India

BCCI Centre of Excellence treated 32 top cricketers last year

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) treated 32 top men’s team players for injuries between April 2025 and March 2026, marking a significant rise in rehabilitation cases. Among them were 20 centrally contracted players and 12 from the India ‘A’ or targeted category, with many injuries occurring after the IPL 2026 season.

The BCCI increased the CoE’s budget by nearly Rs 35 crore, raising total projected expenses for 2026-27 to Rs 127 crore from Rs 92 crore in the previous year. Most injuries were soft-tissue related, though Rishabh Pant received treatment for a foot fracture sustained during a Test in Manchester in July 2025.

Notably, Rohit Sharma underwent rehabilitation for a hamstring injury but the BCCI did not publicly disclose it, while players like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Harshit Rana have been repeat cases, spending months at the CoE in the past 18 months. The facility has faced operational challenges, including a vacant Sports Science Medicine (SSM) head position since March 2025 and a breakdown in coordination between Team India’s SSM team and the CoE’s SSM team, with limited communication channels in place.

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