"Very Rare In The World": BCCI Struggles To Find Ideal Candidate For High-Profile Role

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday said it is once 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 BCCI had previously invited applications to fill the top post in September 2025, but it did not find a suitable candidate due to various reasons. The position has been vacant since Nitin Patel ended his successful stint of nearly three years and left the CoE after March 2025.

Patel, a former India 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.

According to a media advisory released by the BCCI, the successful candidate will provide strategic and operational leadership across elite cricket programmes and manage senior medical staff, including the national team's physiotherapists and strength and conditioning experts.

"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. "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.

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.

Candidates applying for the high-profile post are required to hold a Master's degree in Sports Science or a related discipline, with a Doctorate preferred, alongside a minimum of five years of experience in a strategic leadership role managing multidisciplinary performance teams in professional or Olympic sport.

The applicant must be under 60 years of age and will report directly to the Head of Cricket at the CoE, former India batter VVS Laxman. Interested candidates have been asked to submit their applications online by 5 pm on September 30, following which shortlisted applicants will be called for personal interviews.

After a review meeting was held earlier this month at its headquarters in Mumbai, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia had stated that the board would not rush into filling the long-standing vacancy.

"The vacant position of the head of sports science is not a deterrent to our activities in the CoE. The properly qualified person should be appointed to that role, not just anyone having the qualification.

"In that aspect, we have about 16 persons in place to maintain fitness levels and handle rehab and prehab facilities at the CoE, but one important person is required to supervise them. That kind of person is very rare in India as well as in the rest of the world."

"So we are trying to find that kind of 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 Head of Sports Science and Medicine at the CoE," he had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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