The NCA chief talks about the work involved in looking after India’s top and emerging players
Shashank Kishore03-Oct-2024Meetings, mentoring sessions, project walkthroughs – VVS Laxman’s life as the head of BCCI’s new Centre of Excellence is comparable to that of a CEO’s.We’ve travelled about 35km from Bengaluru’s city centre to this new facility near the international airport. Once fully operational from January 2025, it will replace the existing National Cricket Academy, which adjoins the Chinnaswamy Stadium.”Better than the world’s best,” is how Laxman describes it to our media contingent. This “new NCA” has been in the making for 15 years, with litigation hurdles stalling its progress until two years ago. Since Laxman took charge in December 2021, he’s been busy engaging with site engineers and building consultants, overseeing blueprints, action plans and budgets among other things.”The target for completion was 15 months [from November 2022],” Laxman says. “I was a bit sceptical, but the way work has progressed right from the time construction began has been remarkable. I have been to some of the best academies in the world, not only limited to cricket, but other sports also, but I have not seen this kind of a facility.”As Laxman takes a seat in the media conference room on the second floor, overlooking the ground, he is reminded of his time before becoming the NCA head. “Haven’t seen mics and cameras for a while,” he jokes, referring to his television commentary stint in the past.This is his first official media interaction since taking on the administrative role and while Laxman has consciously avoided the media glare, today, he is happy to explain the ins and outs of his role as he basks in the afterglow of the project’s inauguration a day earlier.Related
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“When I took up this role, I was very reluctant,” he says. “But once I embraced this position, it’s been such a satisfying and fulfilling experience. You’re dealing with not only the established international stars, but you’re creating bench strength. And that has been very, very fulfilling – to see the amount of talent, the amount of potential at our disposal.”In the past the perception has been that the NCA is merely a facility for injured players. Laxman rejects that notion.”There has been a lot of misconception about how NCA is just used for rehab programmes and how players getting back also are getting injured [soon after they resume playing], but you have seen it with Rishabh [Pant], how well NCA manages [players],” Laxman says. “I can’t comment on what has happened in the past, but I can say with a lot of conviction that I am very, very proud of every member of my team.”It’s high-pressure work because they are dealing with injuries, and there is a misconception that timelines have to be met. I understand that at times you [the player] know you will be fit in a particular time frame, but sometimes the recovery won’t be [within a specific time frame] or the result won’t be seen, so having patience and following the protocols is very, very critical.”He also highlights the work the NCA staff put in to motivate and care for injured players.”I sometimes joke with my S&C coaches that they’ve become good counsellors because there will be days when the player will feel little down, a little frustrated, but you have those conversations to convince players that whatever is happening is in their best interest.”The challenging part of rehab is that the entire rehab will probably be done within two-three hours [in a day] and players have nothing to do for the rest of the day. We’re talking about elite sportspersons who are usually busy playing or training six to eight hours, and suddenly they realise they are confined to the rehab room.One of three grounds at the Centre of Excellence that can host first-class cricket•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo Ltd”Once they recover, they progress to the ground [at the NCA], but it’s a maximum of four to five hours, so they are required to be mentally strong and to not get frustrated. It’s very important that the player also understands that and there’s always one or two conversations around it.”Another aspect of the NCA that has come under criticism is the methods used for injury diagnosis. A few players have complained about the rigidity of the system – like having an injured player field for the entire duration of a 50-over game before being declared fit. Players say there have been instances when the ball has hardly come to them while fielding during the game and that processes designed to simply tick a box don’t help in the long run.Laxman tries to explain why the processes are necessary and insists that rapid strides have been taken towards injury prevention in recent times.The BCCI has adopted a system that determines through a series of tests – on shoulders, hip flexors, and hamstrings, for example – certain markers that indicate player fitness, which are then assessed to fine-tune their workloads.This helps determine the extent of injuries and monitors a player’s physical state. If any of the parameters seem off, the physios and coaches can tailor workloads, or look to avoid certain routines that run the risk of causing injuries.”The idea is to prevent injuries,” Laxman says. “And that’s why there has been a focus on recovery and setting fitness standards – it’s very, very critical. In fact, what we have done over the last two years is to standardise fitness procedures from top to bottom. It’s not only the Indian team, but even the state teams. As far as the fitness, recovery or S&C part is concerned, one of the main challenges was how to standardise. How can a player who is at the NCA continue to work on their fitness levels with the same intensity when they are at a zonal camp or back with their state associations?”A view of a dressing room in the 40-acre campus•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo LtdTo do that, the NCA has tied up with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) to introduce upskilling programmes for state-level coaches and physios.The NCA also keeps tabs on players throughout the year, not just during camps, using an Athlete Management System (AMS), which monitors several parameters, like fatigue, sleep, mood, menstrual cycle in case of female athletes, and non-sport stressors. The data is analysed to chart out personalised programmes for every player.”When Rahul [Dravid] was the head coach of the Indian team, he used to take care of the contracted players and we at NCA took care of the targeted players, emerging players and the U-19s throughout the year.”They come for camps and once they go back to their respective state association, we [continue to] monitor them. Every coach would have at least ten players they are monitoring. So, one spin bowling coach, like a Sairaj Bahutule, would have ten spinners under him.”We know the areas they are required to work on, and through the year we make sure the player is working [on those]. We collaborate with the coaches back in the state. A majority of those coaches are part of our ecosystem through the summer programmes. I think ours is always a very open and inclusive way of working.”Laxman says the focus is centred on the player. “We don’t want the player to feel the burden of whose advice he has to listen to. We take into confidence the state association coaches, because they spend a lot more time with that player than we do [at the NCA].”The outdoor nets at the new facility feature 45 pitches•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo LtdAhead of the Border-Gavaskar series down under, India’s A team will also tour Australia, which gives players on the fringes of the Test squad the chance to make their case for selection. In recent times, there have been fewer India A tours, partly due to the knock-on effects of the pandemic on cricket’s calendar, but Laxman says the focus is to have at least two A tours every year.”It’s just about getting exposure to different kind of conditions, so that when they graduate to the national team they are ready. That is the whole objective of the A programme. I think the pitches here [some of which have been made from soil imported from UK and Australia, and others using soil from other parts of India] will allow them to improve their adaptability.”After this Q&A session, Laxman is heading to Chennai to meet the India men’s Under-19 team, currently playing a Youth Test against Australia, so the conversation moves towards the BCCI’s development programme, whose main focus is on age-group cricket.India have featured in the last five men’s U-19 World Cup finals, and won two. They also won the inaugural women’s one in 2023. While the policy of picking an age-group player for only one U-19 World Cup remains in force, there is a concerted effort to make sure that players who miss out on qualifying for the biennial event get some high-profile exposure as well. It’s partly why Samit Dravid was picked in India’s U-19 squad for the Australia series, even though he wasn’t going to be in contention for the next World Cup (injury has ruled him out since then).”When you go from one U-19 World Cup to another, there’s always one batch who misses out. While I’m not saying that it is the most important step in their growth and progress as a cricketer, when you represent India at any level it gives that confidence.”So now currently we are playing a series against Australia U-19 and, luckily, a lot of the guys who may miss out on the next World Cup are part of this series.”It’s time for Laxman to catch his flight to Chennai to meet this next generation of Indian talent. He signs a few autographs, poses for photographs with the Centre of Excellence ground as the backdrop, and as he exits, he asks: “I’ve given y’all three years worth of quotes, haven’t I?”He sure did. And as was the case most times in his career, he couldn’t have timed it better.