The National Cricket Academy (NCA) has coped severe criticism for its handling of players' injuries in recent times and the academy has once again come under the scanner after the recurrence of Ishant Sharma's ankle injury.
The 31-year-old pacer might miss the first part of the IPL in case he is required to undergo rehabilitation at the NCA.
Four weeks back, Ishant was all but out of New Zealand Test series after sustaining an ankle injury during a Ranji Trophy clash while playing for Delhi against Vidarbha. It was only in mid-February that the lanky pacer regained his fitness and joined the Indian team in New Zealand 72 hours before the start of the first Test.
As per a report published in PTI, the Indian team management has remained tight-lipped about the outcome of his scan but according to sources in the BCCI, the same ligament injury on his right ankle has resurfaced once again.
The BCCI media team issued a release after 24 hours which didn't reveal anything other than what the media was already covering. Therefore, some pertinent questions have cropped up in the BCCI circle with this latest injury debacle.
"Once Ishant was ruled out for six weeks by the Delhi team physio after his scan reports revealed Grade 3, how did Kaushik and the NCA team come to conclusion that three weeks is good enough for return to competitive cricket?," a BCCI insider questioned.
The second question is: “was there a greater push from the player himself to get fit in time for the Test series?”
The third and the most important point is: “how thorough was the rehabilitation given that the team's most senior pacer didn't play a single competitive match, which is the norm for any player coming back into the national fold from an injury.”
Ahead of the second Test in Christchurch, Ishant informed the media that he bowled 21 overs at the NCA in two days, after which he was deemed fit to tour New Zealand.
In fact, the veteran paceman had tweeted a picture of himself with NCA physio Ashish Kaushik Kaushik, thanking him for playing a key role in his rehabilitation.
(With PTI inputs)
