Reports | BCCI to help NCA with medical panel, social media department
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The National Cricket Academy (NCA) is set to get the help of a BCCI medical panel and a dedicated social media department as part of the bid to revamp the facility. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly added that going forward, all players will have to go to Bengaluru for rehabilitation.
As promised Ganguly met with his former teammate and current NCA director Rahul Dravid to make some timely decisions to rejuvenate the national facility that has come under fire for its handling of player injuries. While leading India players Wriddhiman Saha and more recently Bhuvneshwar Kumar was left stranded by the poor medical assistance, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah added to the NCA’s woes by choosing personal rehabilitation over recovering in Bengaluru.
Bhuvneshwar may now have to undergo surgery to treat his sports hernia, which the NCA failed to detect, leaving the senior pacer on the sidelines for months. Besides the medical panel being setup, the BCCI will also fill the head of fast bowling position, a nutrition head, head of data analytics, and coaching consultants.
“The BCCI will consult a London-based clinic, Fortius, for setting up its medical panel. Coach development consultants will also be hired on requirement basis,” a top BCCI official told PTI.
The NCA will also be conducting Level 2 and Level 3 coaching courses at its current premises with state associations expected to pay the bill for their respective coaches. Ganguly expects the new fully-fledged NCA facility to be ready in 18 months and stated clearly that the facility will be the primary centre for all cricketing development programs.
Another key change coming up is the hiring of a dedicated social media manager, who will come on board to provide regular updates on the happenings inside the facility. The move is intended to repair the NCA’s reputation, but the board official added that utmost caution will be taken while issuing medical updates on the Indian players.
