'Getting a medical certificate for an injury is child’s play' - Sunil Gavaskar warns BCCI over players skipping domestic events

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently released a 10-clause guidelines for the players contracted with the administrative body to follow. One of the provisions was the participation in the domestic circuit becoming an inflexible component for the players. The only condition through which the players were allowed to skip the domestic matches would be if they provided a valid medical certificate in the case of an injury.

Former Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, pointed out the loophole in the freshly-instated policy by the BCCI in relation to getting away from the thick of things by procuring a piece of paper.

"More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA (National Cricket Academy) for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Kumar Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain? Isn’t that the practice for the BCCI-contracted players, that as soon as there’s an injury, they have to report to the NCA, and only after the BCCI experts there certify them as fit can they resume playing for India? For all we know, these players might have opted out of the earlier games for non-injury reasons," wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar.

Interestingly, his remarks come after ace Indian batter, Virat Kohli, backed out of Delhi's sixth group-stage game of the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy due to a supposed neck strain. 

Also Read: Mumbai’s defeat against J&K highlights perils of aggressive batting; modern batters don't trust defense: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar weighs in on Ayush Mhatre situation

Gavaskar hoped 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre made the most out of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal's presence during Mumbai's recent game against Jammu & Kashmir.

"Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s participation meant that Ayush Mhatre, who had got a couple of hundreds and some fifties, had to be left out of the Mumbai side. Hopefully, the youngster would have spent some time with both these players and picked their brains about adding to his batting ability," penned the erstwhile Indian opener.

Other than Reddy, two other recent examples of injured players from India being sent to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru spring to mind. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were both sent to the NCA to be monitored by the medical staff after sustaining their respective injuries.