The BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE), formerly known as the National Cricket Academy (NCA), has come under serious scrutiny following yet another injury setback to India’s fastest bowler, Mayank Yadav, who has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2025 due to a recurring back injury.
“Yadav sustained a back injury and is ruled out for the remainder of the season,” the IPL media release confirmed on Thursday.
New Zealand pacer William O’Rourke has been named as his replacement in the Lucknow Super Giants squad.
This latest injury has raised significant questions about the COE’s injury rehabilitation protocols. Mayank had made a return to competitive cricket after a six-month-long rehabilitation period under the supervision of the COE’s Sports Science and Medical team. However, in the two matches he played this IPL season, Mayank gave away 100 runs in 8 overs and managed to take only two wickets. His pace dropped noticeably — down by at least 15 kmph — and observers noted a change in his bowling action from a side-on to a more chest-on style, indicating a remodeled action post-injury.
A Short Yet Tumultuous Journey
Mayank has featured in only nine T20 matches from March 30, 2024, to May 4, 2025 — a period spanning just over 13 months. He initially made waves in IPL 2024, consistently breaching the 150 kmph mark and catching national selectors’ attention.
Unfortunately, his first back injury occurred in April 2024, just after his breakthrough performances. Despite the seriousness of the injury, he was fast-tracked into India’s T20I team for the Bangladesh series by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir.
But his comeback was short-lived. By the end of that series, the same back issue flared up again, causing him to miss the entire domestic season. He spent months recovering at the newly inaugurated COE in Bengaluru — which was meant to symbolize India’s leap in sports science and injury management.
Questions Mount Over Rehabilitation Practices
The situation has drawn criticism from insiders within the cricketing ecosystem. A former NCA Strength and Conditioning coach, speaking on the condition of anonymity to PTI, questioned the COE’s approach:
“Now that Nitin Patel (former Head of Sports Science at NCA) has left, there’s no clarity on who is overseeing rehabilitation plans. Was Mayank prematurely cleared as fit without adequate proof that his back could endure high-level cricket? This seems like a repeat of what we saw with Umran Malik too.”
These repeated injury breakdowns — particularly so early in a player’s career — could erode the selection committee’s confidence in Mayank. While he remains only 22 years old, selectors are unlikely to take long-term gambles on a player with persistent fitness issues, especially in a fast-bowling pool already plagued by fragility.
Mayank currently holds a BCCI Pace Bowling Contract and has been under the board’s direct care for the past year. But given his recurrent injuries and the underwhelming results from domestic rehabilitation, there may be a pressing need to seek expert consultations abroad — something that the COE may need to accept as a shortcoming in their own system.
A Wake-Up Call for the COE?
What was supposed to be a flagship centre for elite athlete care in Indian cricket is now facing criticism for possible mismanagement of its core responsibility — keeping players fit and match-ready.
With two high-profile young pacers, Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik, now battling chronic injuries, it’s time the BCCI re-evaluates whether the current systems, staff, and methodologies at the Centre of Excellence are truly serving the purpose they were built for.
