Nitin Patel, head of the Sports Science wing of BCCI’s Center of Excellence, has suddenly resigned. This news is shocking for cricket board members.

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli (R) is treated by team’s physiotherapist Nitin Patel (L) during a practice session at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket stadium in Dambulla, some 150 km north of Colombo, on June 23, 2010. India meets Sri Lankan June 24 for the final One Day International (ODI) cricket match of the Asia Cup. AFP PHOTO/Lakruwan WANNIARACHCHI. (Photo credit should read LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Indian cricket team has suffered a major setback!

Nitin Patel was serving at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) since April 2022. He used to work on the injuries of Indian players and their recovery plan. He played an important role in the comeback of many star cricketers like Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul from injuries.

According to sources, Patel will leave the NCA by the end of this month after completing his notice period. However, the reason for his resignation has not been revealed yet.

How much impact did Patel’s contribution have?

The BCCI was very happy with Patel’s work. His biggest achievement was getting Bumrah and Iyer fit before the 2023 World Cup. Both the players underwent surgery on time and performed brilliantly in the World Cup, leading India to the final.

Recently, Patel was also working on the rehab program of Mohammed Shami, who made a comeback in the England series. Apart from this, he was also working with Bumrah, who was out since January.

In September last year, Patel and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah together inaugurated the High-Performance Center to deal with injuries.

Patel’s way of working and his recovery plan based on science was very impressive. Players often returned to the field in less time than expected.

Now the BCCI will soon issue an advertisement to find a new person to replace Patel. The new person will have to oversee the workload management of the players and recovery from injuries.

Patel’s departure has dealt a big blow to BCCI’s newly established Center of Excellence. At a time when Team India is playing a Test series against England and the T20 World Cup is also on the head, this resignation is a matter of concern.