The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) treated 32 top men’s cricketers for injuries between April 2025 and March 2026, with expenses rising sharply to Rs 127 crore for the financial year 2026-27, according to the CoE annual report obtained by the Times of India. The number of players under rehabilitation includes 20 centrally contracted stars and 12 from the targeted/India ‘A’ category, reflecting a surge in injury cases especially after IPL 2026.
The report reveals a budget increase of nearly Rs 35 crore compared to Rs 92 crore spent last year. These costs cover administrative overheads, courses, and match-related expenses. The injury management programme has been under scrutiny for over 20 months as a growing number of players have repeatedly reported to the CoE for treatment.
India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have expressed concerns about the challenges injuries pose to tour planning. The report states that the Sports Science Medicine (SSM) team at the CoE treated injuries in 68 players across genders during the same period. Most of these injuries were soft-tissue related, with one notable exception being Rishabh Pant’s foot fracture sustained during a Test match in Manchester in July 2025.
The report also discloses that Rohit Sharma underwent rehabilitation at the CoE for a hamstring injury after IPL 2026, a fact not officially announced by the BCCI. New additions to the injury list up to September 30 this year include Virat Kohli, Varun Chakravarthy, Prince Yadav, and Harsh Dubey, alongside several targeted players. Among repeat cases are Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya, and Prasidh Krishna. Rana, Pandya, and Reddy have each spent over four months at the CoE during the last 18 months.
The CoE has faced internal issues, with the post of SSM head remaining vacant since Nitin Patel’s resignation in March 2025. The BCCI only advertised the position last month. According to reports, communication between the Team India SSM team and the CoE’s SSM unit has been limited, with VVS Laxman acting as the sole conduit. Team India’s strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux proposed workload management adjustments in June 2025, but the CoE has reportedly resisted changing its established routines.
CoE staff have actively monitored players at domestic tournaments to support injury prevention and management. The last major spike in soft-tissue injuries in Indian cricket occurred in 2021-22, following the end of Covid-19 bio-bubbles; the issue was resolved within a few months. Another injury surge took place in 2017 after significant changes to the fitness programme by then strength and conditioning coach Shanker Basu.
The report notes that 15 of the 57 planned camps and tournaments did not take place in the last audited year. Nevertheless, the CoE conducted 25 elite and high-performance camps across various age groups and genders, including special camps for north-eastern states. It also ran multiple courses for coaches, strength and conditioning specialists, and match officials.
A ‘training block’ programme started by the CoE for contracted and targeted/India ‘A’ players saw participation from 37 players—11 contracted and 26 from the India ‘A’ or targeted category. This initiative focuses on strength and skill development.
The rise in injuries and the inflated budget at the CoE come as Indian cricket navigates a difficult period of player fitness and tour scheduling. With the SSM head vacancy now advertised, the BCCI faces pressure to improve coordination between its medical teams and the national squad.
According to Yahoo Sports.
