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A fresh report has raised uncomfortable questions about India's growing injury list, with a source at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) claiming that franchise and financial pressures during the Indian Premier League can lead players to play through injuries before arriving at the rehabilitation facility.

The comments come at a difficult time for Indian cricket, with several players currently unavailable because of injuries and the BCCI taking a closer look at the rehabilitation process in Bengaluru.

The issue had already attracted attention after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia visited the CoE over the weekend and met its head, VVS Laxman, to review the situation.

CoE Source Points To IPL Pressure Behind Injury Concerns

According to an ANI report, a CoE source claimed that the workload created by India's packed cricket calendar is being compounded by the pressures surrounding franchise cricket.

The source specifically alleged that some players continue playing through injuries during the IPL because of franchise and financial considerations before subsequently arriving at the CoE for rehabilitation.

“Too much cricket. The human body has its load limits. Overuse and stress injuries, especially in older players, are unpredictable in terms of return to play.”

The source added:

“Players play through injuries during IPL due to franchise and financial pressures and then are dumped onto unsuspecting COE physios.”

The source, however, also defended the medical staff at both franchise and CoE level, describing them as competent and conscientious and saying player safety remained their priority.

According to the source, the situation ultimately makes decisions more difficult for selectors, coaches and captains.

BCCI Reviews Situation As Injury List Grows

The comments come as India deal with a significant injury list across formats.

Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were initially included in India's squad for the Sri Lanka Test series subject to fitness but were eventually ruled out.

Bumrah has been dealing with a knee injury sustained during India's ODI tour of England, while Sudharsan suffered a foot injury during the India A red-ball series in Sri Lanka.

India are also without Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy because of hamstring problems, while Washington Sundar is recovering from a quadriceps injury.

Akash Deep has been sidelined for the longest period among the Test players, having been recovering from a lower-back stress fracture since Bengal's Ranji Trophy semi-final defeat.

The CoE is simultaneously managing white-ball players including Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Prince Yadav.

VVS Laxman Pushes Back Against ‘Blame’ Narrative

Laxman addressed the growing scrutiny during Sunday's press conference alongside Saikia and BCCI president Mithun Manhas.

Rather than treating the facility simply as an injury rehabilitation centre, Laxman stressed that the CoE has a much wider role.

“CoE is not a rehab centre. There's a bigger responsibility and mandate given by the BCCI.”

Laxman also rejected the idea of turning the injury situation into a blame game.

“Injuries are part and parcel of any player's career. That's why the monitoring system is very critical. And we don't use the term blame; then we will be trying to find scapegoats.”

BCCI Yet To Fill Key Sports Science Position

Another issue highlighted during the discussion was the vacant Head of Sports Science and Medicine position at the CoE.

The post has remained vacant since Nitin Patel's departure in early 2025. Laxman said finding the right replacement had proved difficult because the role requires considerable experience as well as an understanding of Indian cricketers and their specific needs.

“After Nitin (Patel) left, we couldn't fill his shoes. Everything was agreed upon; Andrew (Leipus) backed off citing family reasons.”

The latest comments therefore paint a more complicated picture than simply blaming one department for India's injury problems.

The BCCI is now facing questions around workload, franchise pressures, injury monitoring and rehabilitation, while the CoE continues to handle an unusually large group of players.