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BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia has ruled out the possibility of the Board taking steps to determine the bowling workload of the Indian team bowlers during the IPL season.
Saikia’s comments come amid the controversy where many bowlers of the national team are seen bowling despite injuries.
The latest player in the line is Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who is apparently playing despite a fractured toe.
Those who played despite injuries include Bumrah, Arshdeep, Chakraborty.
Varun Chakravarthy suffered a hairline fracture in his left toe during KKR’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 3. He was chosen player of the match in that game.
Varun played most of the time despite the injury, but had to miss the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 13 May. Since then, he has been seen limping in and out of the stadium, which shows that he is indeed not fully well.
A few days ago, Punjab Kings head of sports science Andrew Leapse had said that Arshdeep Singh had some physical constraints due to which his performance with the ball in the tournament was inconsistent.
Last month, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene had revealed that top fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was playing through a minor injury sustained in the T20 World Cup.
Jayawardene’s comments came at a time when Bumrah had not got any wicket in the first five matches of the season.
“BCCI cannot micromanage players” – Saikia
Speaking to TOI, BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia said the board cannot always interfere in these matters. He said the board managed things in the CoE, but they could not put pressure on the franchisees.
“We cannot interfere in the functioning of franchises by trying to control the workload and fitness of players in the IPL,” he said. Saikia, clarifying the protocol, said that during the IPL, the franchises are in charge of the players and not the board, even though the Center of Excellence (CoE) monitors the centrally contracted players.
“There is monitoring, but we cannot interfere too much during the IPL,” Saikia said. But Saikia assured reporters that as far as the national team is concerned, the BCCI is largely in control and takes into account the fitness of players while selecting them for the country.
“We are giving the franchises the freedom to take decisions on their players. However, fitness remains an important criterion when it comes to national selection,” Saikia said.
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BCCI announces Indian team for Afghanistan series
On Tuesday, the BCCI announced the Indian squad for the one-off Test and three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
More emphasis has been given on fitness in these squads also. Ravindra Jadeja has missed a few matches for RR in IPL 2026 and due to this he has been rested by these teams.
Mohammed Shami was overlooked for these teams as well, as the selectors were not convinced that he was fit to bowl more than four overs in a day.
Both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are battling injuries in IPL 2026, but they have been selected in the ODI team on the basis of fitness.
