BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has made it clear that the Indian players will have to go to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for post-injury rehabilitation. Ganguly's comments came after his meeting with Head of Cricket at the NCA Rahul Dravid.
The meeting between Ganguly and Dravid was held days after the NCA had refused to conduct a fitness test of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is returning from a back injury. Reportedly, Bumrah was "not keen" on going to the NCA for rehab post the stress fracture and was consulting his own specialists in the United Kingdom.
"I met Rahul Dravid yesterday, and we have put a system in place. The bowlers will have to go to the NCA. If anybody (else) has to treat them, they will have to come to NCA," Ganguly was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
"Whatever may be the reason, we will accommodate everything. We will also make sure the players are comfortable and they don’t feel left out or out of place. So, we will do it that way."
"We are going full throttle with the NCA. Construction work will start (at the new land) and it will be a state-of-the-art unit. In 18 months time, if we are still there, you will see an NCA that will be spick and span."
Talking about his proposal for a four-nation 'ODI Super Series' between involving Australia, England and one more nation, Ganguly said the idea behind it is to create a niche tournament.
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"It a proposal. Let see where it goes. The reason behind it is only to have a good, competitive tournament. So, that where it stands. We will have to get clearances from the broadcasters and ICC for a four-nation tournament. Then, there are the Future Tours Programme (FTP) areas to look at, as to where do we fit it within the FTP. But it just a way to create a niche tournament."
"We are looking for quality cricket. What we see today, is only bilaterals happening. People want to see a high-class tournament and we are attempting to do it. Look at the crowds in the Boxing Day Test between Australia and New Zealand. So, that also one of the reasons. Pink Ball Test was one such effort to generate crowd interest."