BCCI meeting decoded: Devajit Saikia reveals big plans on injuries, SENA tour and 2027 World Cup

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has drawn up a plan to address India’s recent failures overseas, mounting player injuries and preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup, with secretary Devajit Saikia revealing details at a high-level review meeting in Mumbai on Thursday.The meeting, which was attended by head coach Gautam Gambhir, Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer and Center of Excellence director VVS Laxman, reviewed India’s recent tour of Ireland and England as well as the team’s preparations for the next phase of the international calendar.Chief selector Ajit Agarkar was absent but Saikia said there was no controversy behind his absence and insisted there was no discussion about his future.

“BCCI works like a well-oiled engine”

Saikia strongly rejected suggestions of a communication gap between the team’s management and the Center of Excellence, especially after several high-profile setbacks due to injuries.“Everyone is on the same page. BCCI is running in a very well-oiled engine,” Saikia told reporters.“There is proper coordination between all wings of the BCCI, be it the women’s team committees or their technical staff or their coaches, to the COE, to the Indian men’s coaching staff and the head coach. There is no problem in coordination, everything is moving in the right direction.”But he admitted the injury rate remains a major concern and said the board intends to address it with changes to the next Future Tours Program (FTP).“The only challenge we face is that there are too many matches in the year, so in the next FTP we will do certain things, we will take certain measures.”The proposed changes will particularly affect the preparation for trips to the SENA countries — South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.“We have instructed our FTP persons who will meet very soon in various international forums that our FTP should be such that it should be planned for the players to have proper rest and also some acclimatization or some friendly matches before any big series in SENA countries,” Saikia said.The comments come after India endured a difficult ride in overseas white-ball cricket, losing 0-2 to Ireland in the T20Is before a 1-4 defeat to England in the five-match series. India also lost the ODI series in England 1-2.

“We need to do some soul searching”

Acknowledging India’s shortcomings, Saikia said the review session focused on understanding why the team was struggling.“We discussed (about) our team’s performances in England and Ireland and also what we will do next year. The travel plan has been prepared and we will do some exercises to perform very well in the 2027 (ODI) World Cup,” he said.“Yes, we didn’t do well. We lost games in Ireland and England, so we wanted to know what the reasons were. We have to do some soul-searching about that and in the future, what we’re going to do before we go to any of the SENA countries, we’ve outlined some strategy for that.”The board also reviewed their Return to Play protocols, seeking feedback directly from Gill, Iyer and Gambhir.“Today’s discussion was very general in nature, what policy and protocols do we have to follow in terms of maintaining the fitness level of each player – not any individual – and what’s in the best interest of the team, we were just thinking about that,” Saikia said.“We have taken feedback from the captains and the head coach who are the right people to give us information, so we have made the right strategy to avoid all these unwanted situations during matches.”

Rohit’s speculation resolved, he explained Agarkar’s absence

Saikia also hit back against renewed speculation about Rohit Sharma’s ODI future and his prospects of playing in the 2027 World Cup.“He is playing brilliantly in all the matches. So, what more can you want? He scored 138 runs in the last match. So why the speculation? So I don’t want to contribute to the speculation,” Saikia said.Rohit scored a century at Lord’s in his last ODI appearance, intensifying the debate over whether he will continue until the 2027 World Cup.Saikia also explained why Agarkar was absent from the meeting.“Today he (Agarkar) was out of station so he could not attend the meeting. As this meeting was called at very short notice and our selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar was not in the city, he could not join it and he was in such an area that he could not even join online despite our efforts,” he said.“There was no such discussion at today’s meeting. I do not comment on new rumours. We have had no such discussions nor had any such intentions.”He further ruled out any discussion on the appointment of a new director of cricket.“There was no discussion in the selection committee. Our entire focus was on the performances in England and Ireland as well as the recent Test series in Sri Lanka and what we will do in the upcoming ODI World Cup series, which is our ultimate goal,” Saikia said.

BCCI is still looking for a sports science chief

Another issue Saikia tackled was the vacant position of head of sports science and medicine at the Council of Europe, which he insisted did not affect the centre’s operations.“I would like to reiterate that the vacant position of Head of Sports Science is not a deterrent to our activities in the COE,” he said.“(Filling) this position is required, but it’s a very high level position, so a proper qualified person should be placed. We have about 16 people on site to maintain a fitness or rehabilitation facility.”“To see that one important person is needed and for that he has to be qualified to another level. There are very few such people in India and in the whole world.”“We are trying to find such a person as soon as possible, but even without him it is running in the right way,” Saikia added.So the meeting ended without major immediate personnel changes, but the BCCI laid out a broader plan: reduce the burden of a crowded calendar, improve preparation overseas, strengthen injury management and build towards the 2027 World Cup.