BCCI official says Rahul Dravid should take responsibility for NCA blunders after Ishant Sharma injury
What's the story?
A BCCI official has called out Rahul Dravid after the reoccurence of Ishant Sharma's injury in New Zealand forced the pacer to sit out of the second Test against the Kiwis. As per the official, Dravid is the primary decision-maker at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and should thus take responsibility for the decisions taken.
The background
Before Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had stayed out of the team for a long time because of their injury reoccurences. The players came back from injuries only to play a few games and return to the shelf once again. Sharma had injured his ankle during a domestic match but had been cleared to play in the first Test match against New Zealand.
Unfortunately, the injury popped up once again, meaning the lanky pacer could not represent the nation at the Hagley Oval.
The heart of the matter
Speaking to IANS, a senior BCCI official pointed out the recent cases of players getting injured again and again. He said:
"It would be interesting to see what are the changes in the scan reports when he was declared fit and the ones taken now. Look, Dravid is one of the most respected players we have but administration is objective and ruthless."
The official defended Dravid's coaching and mentoring decisions but mentioned that the decisions relating to administration will be scrutinized. He also added that the former Indian skipper's decisions could be criticized as well if the matter involves the fitness of a player like Sharma, who has done wonders for India in Test cricket.
He further stated that Dravid should take responsibility for the calls taken by the NCA and continued:
"Since Rahul is apparently the primary decision maker at the NCA, it would therefore only be natural that he should take responsibility for the processes and decisions."
The BCCI functionary concluded by saying that it is time for Dravid to accept the recent blunders made by the NCA, adding that he should even consider hiring a neutral person as a Physio if Ashish Kaushik, the current NCA Physio, is favoring the players. Referring to the change in the office bearers, the official said that Dravid should note things are not the same as they were one year ago.
What's next?
It will be interesting to see if the BCCI takes any action against the NCA members involved here.