The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday said it is again inviting applications for the position of Head, Sports Science and Medicine at its state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence (CoE) facility in Bengaluru.
The successful candidate will provide strategic and operational leadership across elite cricket programs and manage senior medical staff, including the national team’s physios and strength and conditioning experts, according to a media advisory released by the BCCI. “The successful candidate will provide strategic and operational leadership to BCCI’s Sports Science and Medicine services across its elite cricket and CoE programmes. The role will also involve line management of the Head of Physiotherapy (CoE), Team India Head of Physiotherapy, Head S&C (CoE) and Team India S&C, while working closely with National and CoE coaches, Cricket Education and other performance specialists to deliver integrated support programmes for Indian players,” the BCCI stated in its advisory. The role will carry a core focus on athlete longevity and modern medical practices. Outlining the core duties of the executive, the BCCI noted that the individual will ‘develop and implement the strategic vision, objectives and framework for BCCI’s Sports Science and Medicine department, including clinical and medical governance, service delivery, risk management and player welfare. Furthermore, the official will ‘oversee programmes related to injury prevention and risk reduction, player recovery and rehabilitation, athlete development, illness and wellness management, and long-term physical development,’ while also driving research initiatives and institutional partnerships.
Patel, a former Indian team physiotherapist, oversaw the recovery processes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami and got them fit in time for the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup.
“The position will have a key focus on player welfare, injury prevention and rehabilitation, physical development, research, innovation and the adoption of relevant technologies and services,” added the BCCI. “So we are trying to find that kind of a person at the earliest possible time and once again we will start the exercise to find a person who can fit into that position of the head of sports science and medicine in COE,” he had said.
