The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will finally hold its long-pending review meeting at its Mumbai headquarters on Thursday.
All the key BCCI office-bearers are expected to attend the meeting, along with India head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman.
The meeting had been in the works for quite some time. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told IANS on July 10 that a detailed review would be held after India’s tour of England ended on July 19.
The original plan was to discuss India’s disappointing results in England and Ireland. India had lost the T20I series in both countries and also suffered defeat in the ODI series against England.
However, the meeting was postponed because of India’s T20I tour of Zimbabwe and the Test series in Sri Lanka. India went on to win the Zimbabwe series 3-0 and completed a 1-0 victory in Sri Lanka.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the meeting will now take place on Thursday, September 3.
“Yes, there is a meeting scheduled on September 3. All top Board officials and other concerned members are scheduled to arrive in Mumbai for it by tonight.
“The in-depth discussion will primarily revolve around the recent results of the senior men’s team and reviewing where things went right and wrong. The discussion will also be around the ongoing injury concerns around many players like Hardik Pandya and drawing future plans for important assignments like the multi-format tour of New Zealand, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home and 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup,” further said sources to this news agency.
Injury Concerns To Be A Major Talking Point
The fitness issues within the Indian team have once again come into focus following the squad announcement for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana have all been picked subject to fitness clearance.
The series will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi from September 13 to 17.
Hardik Pandya’s absence is another major issue that could come up during the meeting. The all-rounder played an important role in India’s successful 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup campaign on home soil but has not been picked for the Afghanistan series.
Pandya remains an important part of India’s plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. However, his repeated fitness problems have raised questions about how much bowling he will be able to handle in a 50-over match.
His latest injury is understood to be a blow to the shin, making his recovery and workload management an important issue for the team.
Future Plans Also On The Agenda
The BCCI is also expected to discuss India’s plans for some major assignments coming up over the next year.
These include the multi-format tour of New Zealand, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home and the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup.
With the World Cup now becoming a major long-term target, the selectors and team management will be expected to assess the squad, player fitness and workload management well in advance.
Sourav Ganguly To Attend BCCI AGM
Meanwhile, former India captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is set to attend the BCCI Annual General Meeting on September 18 in Mumbai.
Ganguly is currently the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
According to the draft electoral roll for the AGM seen by IANS, 31 of the 35 state associations will be represented at the meeting.
The AGM will also conduct elections for two representatives to the IPL Governing Council.
Four associations, Hyderabad, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar will not attend the meeting due to unspecified administrative issues.
Apart from Ganguly, former India players Venkatesh Prasad and Saurabh Tiwary are also expected to attend. Prasad is currently the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), while Tiwary is the secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).
Recommended For You
Former Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah, who currently heads the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), will also be present.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association will be represented by court-appointed administrator Govinda Sanap, while Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley will represent the Delhi association.