Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were ruled out of Sri Lanka Tests despite being included in India squad.
The Indian team is now experiencing one of its worst injury crises to date. For the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, players like Jasprit Bumrah and B Sai Sudharsan were ruled out, and Washington Sundar's return for the second match has not been confirmed.
The release of unsuitable players for the national squad, particularly Bumrah, has also put the BCCI Center of Excellence (CoE) under fire. Former India batter S Badrinath, however, believes that VVS Laxman and the CoE are not to blame.
Badrinath stated that most of the blame should be placed on captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and selectors, whose desire to include Bumrah and other players in the team caused this predicament.
"I don't know who made the decision. CoE will not make the selection, right? They will just say he is in this state and can play these matches, and his body is in this state. But I think the captain, coach, and selectors are making the decision. CoE only passes the information. They are not selectors," Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
Badrinath was also not impressed with Washington Sundar’s fitness levels, given how frequently he gets injured. He stated that the spinner must work hard on his fitness, as it is not his forte, and should take things seriously if he wants to extend his career and play for the Indian team consistently.
"I don't have an immediate answer to the root cause of so many injuries. It is important to see what kind of injuries these are. At high-level professional sports, injuries are common. Sai Sudharsan got hit by a ball; with Bumrah, it is a chronic injury because of being overused, and fitness is not Sundar's forte; he is injury-prone. His fitness needs a lot of work. Management and monitoring are very important. Injuries are bound to happen, and you cannot control it," added Badrinath.
Sai Sudharsan has already been replaced by Sarfaraz Khan in the Indian team for the Sri Lanka Tests.