Devajit Saikia Set to Discuss India’s Fitness Issues with Laxman
Devajit Saikia, the BCCI secretary, will travel to Bengaluru on August 9, 2026, to meet with VVS Laxman, the Head of Cricket, at the Center of Excellence.
The goal of the visit is to take a direct look at the ongoing rehabilitation program at a time when an abnormally big number of Indian cricketers are out injured ahead of the Test tour of Sri Lanka.
It is clear that the BCCI has taken note of the growing number of fitness concerns in both the Test and white-ball squads. Devajit Saikia participation at the Center of Excellence is meant to provide the board with firsthand information about each player’s healing progress.
Which players are currently undergoing rehabilitation?
Jasprit Bumrah, a member of the Test squad, has left knee swelling and will miss the Sri Lanka series. Akash Deep has been sidelined the longest of the bunch, suffering a lower-back stress fracture.
Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy are both nursing hamstring problems, while Washington Sundar is dealing with a quadriceps injury. B Sai Sudharsan has also been out with a toe ailment.
Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy, and Prince Yadav are all recuperating at Bengaluru’s Center of Excellence. The sheer volume of players undergoing rehabilitation has called the BCCI’s sports science and medical infrastructure into question.
Nitin Patel, the permanent sports science head, left in early 2025. Dhananjay Kaushik is now the centre’s interim sports science head, supervising operations.
What does Devajit Saikia visit establish, and what happens next?
The August 9 meeting between Devajit Saikia and Laxman is the next confirmed administrative step in the BCCI’s examination of the rehabilitation establishment.
The debate is intended to examine the individual growth of each player now at the Center of Excellence, providing the board with a more complete picture before making any choices about the Sri Lanka tour.
There have been no announcements about player availability or prospective replacements for the Sri Lanka tour prior to the visit.
