BENGALURU: Despite Nitin Patel leaving almost 18 months ago, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still looking for a suitable candidate for the Head of Sports Science & Medicine role at the Centre of Excellence. This confirmation from BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and head of CoE VVS Laxman comes at a time when several Indian players are struggling with injuries.
Since Patel left, the BCCI has interviewed multiple candidates. In fact, Andrew Leipus — a veteran in the field who currently plays the same role with Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League — came close to taking up the job. However, things did not pan out at the last minute. “After Nitin left, we did not get anyone who could fill in that position. We had Andrew Leipus; everything was agreed upon. In fact, Devajit had two or three meetings with him, but Andrew backed off at the last moment, citing family reasons,” Laxman said during a select media interaction at the CoE on Sunday.
The former India batter said that a panel featuring him, Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Dr Ashish Soni and Dr Rohan Khavte shortlisted five candidates, including an Australian he did not want to name. “After selecting him, suddenly he backed out, saying he cannot move to Bengaluru. One of the important conditions is that it is a full-time job. It is day-to-day monitoring. Another professional was the head of sports science at the All blacks (New Zealand's rugby team). We engaged with him, and he almost agreed, but at the last moment he backed off. To fill in the position, you require not someone of the stature but the knowledge and understanding of Indian cricketers,” Laxman explained.
In Patel’s absence, Laxman credited the existing sports science and sports medicine staff at CoE for stepping up. With Dhananjay Kaushik handling Patel's responsibilities in the interim, the likes of AI Harrsha, S Rajinikanth and the rest have taken up the responsibilities of the sports science department. “Because we did not get a head of sports science, we divided, and I think a lot of credit goes to the professionals already in the team. They have stepped up,” said Laxman. “The second and third candidates (of the shortlists) are already working at the CoE. Now, it is our responsibility to upskill them while looking to identify someone of that stature and experience and knowledge,” he added.
That does not mean that looking out for Patel’s replacement has been put off. When asked whether the growing injury list among elite Indian cricketers would force the BCCI to hasten the process, Saikia said that there is an acute shortage of people with suitable technical knowledge. “We have our technical persons who are at a certain standard. So the person who will be heading the sports centre will (have to) be much better than them. There are very limited people, not only in India but across the world. We are facing some problems in spite of the repeated processes. We are not getting the right candidate. But the process is on to find the right candidate,” Saikia said.