The BCCI Men’s Selection Committee on Tuesday (September 1) announced a 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming three-T20I series against Afghanistan, starting September 13 in New Delhi.
Notably, four players—Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Harshit Rana—were named in the squad subject to fitness clearance. They are nursing injuries and currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, a report suggests that the BCCI has now adopted a new policy regarding selection amid recent criticism of its handling of injured players.
The board will no longer name a player in the squad unless the management is completely certain of their availability.
A source familiar with the policy noted that officials now want to be "200 percent confident" before releasing a player to play. This change follows instances where aforementioned players were called up, only to be ruled out after a few appearances.
"Not just 100 per cent, but they want to be 200 per cent confident about a player's availability before releasing him," Cricbuzz quoted the source as saying.
Recently, CoE head VVS Laxman explained how the selection process works, emphasizing that the CoE's fitness assessments are given openly to selectors and team management.
“The process is that the selector reaches out to the COE asking for the fitness status report. And we collect the current fitness status and send a report to the selection committee chairman or chairperson in the women's selection committee, with a copy to obviously the head coach of both the teams and the BCCI,” Laxman told reporters.
“There's transparency in all the fitness reports and also in the selection. At the end of the selection, it's clearly mentioned that these players are picked subject to fitness. It means if they don't clear the fitness test, the selectors will know who the other players are who will go in their place. I mean, it's basic common sense,” he added.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia also addressed the asterisk around certain players' names, citing that since the selections are made 3-4 weeks before an assignment, the board wants to ensure that conditions of selection are explicitly mentioned.
"So if he gets picked within that period of 21 or 28 days, he will be taken into the team," Saikia had said. "So that is precisely why we do not outrightly reject him because on the date of selection, we are rejecting him because on that day he is not fit. But, by the time it is effectively required for travel or to play the match, by that time he may be totally fit."
As for Afghanistan series, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy are on track to be fully fit and available. In contrast, the status for Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar remains uncertain. "The CoE will not take chances," the report quoted the source as saying.
