'As a Bumrah fan, I want to know what injury he has' - Mohammad Kaif calls for more 'transparency' involving player injuries and rehab

Former India cricketer and a live wire in the field during his playing days Mohammad Kaif has raised his concerns regarding the handling of injuries of a lot of India players who go to seek rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Kaif feels that there is a lack of 'transparency' when it comes to the fitness levels of certain players and that has been the case in the past with athletes like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Kaif believes that the lack of clarity is unfair to the ardent fans of the sport.

India's pace spearhead Bumrah has been missing out since Australia came to India for a bilateral T20I series. He featured in that T20I series but has been missing from action since then. His unavailability during the T20 World Cup down under hurt India badly as they had to rely on a youngster like Arshdeep Singh to deliver during the crunch moments.

“I have noticed faults in the system. Players have gotten picked in the squad and then pulled out before the match citing they weren't fully fit. This happened to Bumrah recently and even Mohammed Shami has done this a couple of times,” Kaif told Sportskeeda.

“So the NCA trainers, physios, VVS Laxman and his team have to take care of these situations. Because it is unfair on the fans of cricket who are expecting Bumrah to play the next day. I feel this is a very serious matter and the management shouldn't take it lightly,” he mentioned.

Kaif has urged the authorities taking care of the fitness of players to be more transparent. He spoke from a fan's perspective and mentioned that they should be made aware of the recovery procedure, the time duration needed for the same and more when a player falls prey to injury.

“There should be transparency and players should be tested properly before being declared fit. There shouldn't be any grey area left; a player is either fit or more 10-20 days will be needed. As a Bumrah fan, I want to know what injury he has, what is his recovery time, etc. So they should address this transparency bit and put forth the exact matter.”