Need to get to the bottom of it all: New BCCI President Roger Binny wants to reduce player injuries

Mumbai, Oct. 18: Roger Binny took over the reigns of the BCCI presidency from Sourav Ganguly and got right down to business. Shortly after being appointed to the top post, the newly elected BCCI president said that frequent injuries to top players was a matter of concern, and he would "get to the bottom of it all".

Apart from that, Binny, the former Indian cricketer, also said one of his key agendas was to improve the pitches for domestic cricket.

Binny took over the top post of the Indian cricket board on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, following his appointment, Binny said, "We will look to improve on what we can do to reduce the injuries to players."

"Players getting frequently injured is a concern, and we wish to get to the bottom of it all and see how it can be changed for the better. We have excellent doctors and trainers at the National Cricket Academy (in Bengaluru), but we must look to reduce the injuries and improve recovery," PTI quoted Binny.

With the work pressure and injuries increasing in tandem, the Indian team has fielded as many as 40 players across formats in 2022. While injuries was the main reason for this, another factor was that multiple series were being held simultaneously.

In the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup, where India will open their tournament against arch-rivals Pakistan, the Men In Blue will be without its premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, all due to injuries.

While Bumrah was ruled out due to a stress injury of the back, Jadeja recently underwent surgery on his right knee. Initially named in reserve, Deepak Chahar, who had torn a quadricep muscle in February and then suffered from a back issue during its rehabilitation, was also ruled out due to an injury.

During his interaction on Tuesday, the new BCCI chief also stressed on the importance of improving the pitches used for domestic cricket in India.

"There needs to be more life in the wickets at home, so that our teams would not have the problem of adjusting when travelling abroad - like in Australia, where there is more pace and bounce."

World Cup winner Binny, 67, was elected unopposed at the BCCI AGM (Annual general Meeting) alongside Jay Shah, who was re-elected as the secretary for a second successive term.

Outgoing chief Ganguly was present at the meeting as the representative of the Cricket Association of Bengal, where he is set to return as president. Binny, who played 27 Tests and 72 ODIs for India, takes charge ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup set to be held in India next year.

Source: Inputs from PTI