VVS Laxman to attend all senior men's selection meetings: BCCI's Saikia
Synopsis
The BCCI has formalised a structural fix to a recurring problem: VVS Laxman, head of the Centre of Excellence, will now sit in on every senior men's selection meeting. The trigger was a pattern of players being named in squads and then pulled out due to fitness issues — a gap that the CoE's real-time injury data is now meant to close at source.
Key Takeaways
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed on 7 October 2026 that VVS Laxman will attend all senior men's national selection committee meetings going forward.
The decision was taken at a review meeting held last month at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai .
Laxman's first appearance under the new norm was at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, for squad selection for the five-game T20I series in New Zealand and the three-match red-ball A series against New Zealand A .
The move aims to eliminate miscommunication between selectors and the CoE in Bengaluru regarding player fitness and availability.
Whether the same arrangement will apply to senior women's selection meetings has not yet been confirmed.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 that VVS Laxman, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE), will henceforth be a permanent presence at all senior men's national selection committee meetings. The decision, Saikia said, was formalised at a comprehensive review meeting held last month at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
What Triggered the Decision
The move follows a pattern of selection ambiguity in recent months, where players named in squads were subsequently withdrawn after failing to achieve full fitness in time for tours. The recurring cycle of last-minute pullouts prompted the BCCI to institutionalise a direct link between the selection panel and the CoE, which tracks player fitness and workload data.
Laxman's first appearance under this new arrangement came on Tuesday evening at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, where he joined Saikia and selection panel members Pragyan Ojha, SS Das, Ajay Ratra, and RP Singh. The meeting was convened to pick India's squads for the five-game T20I series in New Zealand and the three-match red-ball A series against New Zealand A. A photograph shared by the BCCI on their official social media accounts showed Laxman seated alongside the selectors.
What Saikia Said
'VVS Laxman was present in the meeting on Tuesday to ensure that there is no miscommunication between the selectors and the CoE while picking the squads. He is the head of cricket at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru and henceforth will attend all senior men's selection meetings,' Saikia said in a statement.
Saikia was careful to frame the change as a structural fix rather than a transparency measure. 'It is not about transparency. In fact, it is about ensuring that the selectors get complete and accurate information about the players and their fitness status so that they can make the right decisions,' he added.
Why It Matters
The CoE in Bengaluru functions as the BCCI's centralised performance and rehabilitation hub, giving Laxman direct access to real-time injury and fitness data on India's contracted players. His mandatory inclusion in selection meetings closes an information gap that had, on multiple occasions, resulted in squads being announced without a full picture of who was genuinely available.
Notably, this kind of structural coordination between a coaching or development arm and a selection panel is common in high-performance cricket programmes globally, but had not been formalised in the BCCI's setup until now.
Women's Team: Question Still Open
While the mandate is confirmed for senior men's selection meetings, it remains unclear whether the same arrangement will be extended to the senior women's selection committee. Injury-related availability issues have increasingly affected women's team players ahead of major tournaments in recent months, making the question of a similar institutional fix relevant for the women's programme as well. No official announcement has been made on that front.
With the new norm now in place, the next test of its effectiveness will come when India's squads for the New Zealand assignments are assessed against actual player availability once the tours get underway.
Point of View
But the announcement raises an uncomfortable question: why did it take repeated last-minute pullouts to trigger what should have been standard operating procedure from the moment the CoE was given a mandate over player fitness? The silence on the women's programme is also telling — injury availability has disrupted the women's team just as frequently, yet the same fix has not been extended there. If the CoE's value is its real-time data, that value should not be gender-conditional.
NationPress
7 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why will VVS Laxman attend all BCCI senior men's selection meetings?
Laxman will attend to ensure that selectors have complete and accurate fitness information about players before finalising squads. The decision was made after a pattern of players being named in squads and then withdrawn due to fitness issues, creating a structural communication gap between the selection panel and the Centre of Excellence.
When was this decision taken and by whom?
The decision was formalised at a comprehensive review meeting held last month at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, attended by Laxman himself. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the arrangement publicly on 7 October 2026.
What is the BCCI Centre of Excellence and what is Laxman's role there?
The BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru is the board's centralised performance and rehabilitation hub for India's contracted players. VVS Laxman serves as its head, overseeing player development, fitness tracking, and workload management.
Which squads were being selected at the Guwahati meeting where Laxman first attended?
The meeting at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati was convened to pick India's squads for the five-game T20I series in New Zealand and the three-match red-ball A series against New Zealand A.
Will the same arrangement apply to the senior women's selection committee?
As of now, there has been no official confirmation that Laxman's mandatory attendance will be extended to senior women's selection meetings. Injury and availability issues have also affected the women's team in recent months, making it a pertinent open question.
