BCCI working like a well-oiled engine, says Saikia

Frequent injury breakdowns, delayed player recoveries and absence of a sports medicine head for almost 18 months seem to have created an impression that the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Centre of Excellence is not on the same page as the men’s team management and the selection committee.

However, after key stakeholders deliberated the issues threadbare for almost two hours, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia insisted that all the pillars of Indian cricket are on the same page.

“Everybody is on the same page. The BCCI is working like a well-oiled engine. There is proper coordination among all the wings of the BCCI, whether it is the women’s team committees, their technical staff and coaches, the COE, the Indian men’s team coaching staff or the head coach,” Saikia said here on Thursday.

“There is no difficulty in coordination; everything is moving in the right direction. The only challenge we are facing is that there are too many matches in a year. That is why, in the next FTP, we will take certain measures. We have instructed our FTP officials, who will be meeting soon at various international forums, to ensure that the FTP is scheduled in such a way that there is adequate rest for players, as well as some acclimatisation and friendly matches before any major series in SENA countries.”

With the Men in Blue set to feature in ODI and T20I World Cups besides the Olympics in the next two years, it will be critical for the selectors, the team management and the CoE to work as a cohesive unit.