"They take injections and start playing."
BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma was embroiled in controversy when he made a series of allegations against the Indian cricket team.
He was caught up in a sting operation conducted by Zee News.
Sharma was reinstated by the BCCI after being removed following India’s performance at the T20 World Cup.
Sharma spoke about certain players and also revealed his internal discussions with head coach Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli.
He said India’s players take injections to expedite their match fitness when they are returning from injuries.
Chetan Sharma said: “The players are not fit but they take injections to play. They are ready to play even at 80 per cent fitness. They take injections and start playing.
“Even if they are around 85 per cent fit, they will say ‘Sir let us play’ but they are not cleared by the medical team that is where the problem lies.
“The players always want to play, they never refuse to play.
“Bumrah could not even bend so what can he do? 1-2 such major injuries happen.
“Otherwise, even at 80 per cent (fitness) they are so naughty that they quietly sneak into a corner and take the injection and say ‘Sir we are fit’.”
He went on to claim that there was an ego battle between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly.
“When a player becomes a little experienced, then he feels that he has all the power, even more than the board.
“Then he feels that he is untouchable and the board will not be able to hurt him. A player feels that without him, cricket will not survive, but many big players have come and gone.
“Cricket remains the same. So, at the time, he tried to attack the [then BCCI] president. Sourav Ganguly never mentioned this issue to me, but it became a huge deal. Either the president was lying or Virat Kohli was speaking the truth, this situation created headlines.
“It was a battle of egos. Sourav Ganguly was also the captain of India. He was regarded as the most trustworthy captain and he is still remembered as the most successful captain.
“Virat naturally thinks that he is the most successful captain.
“So, it was one person’s word over another, that naturally created some friction between the two.”
“Why did Virat have to say that [in a press conference]?
“He is travelling to South Africa as the captain of the Indian cricket team. The press conference is always about the team, there was no reason to bring this topic up, but he did so deliberately.”
On what Virat Kohli wanted out of this, Chetan Sharma replied:
“Only he knows that… He obviously felt that he lost the ODI captaincy because of the president of the BCCI… Ganguly made a statement that when Virat Kohli was discussing leaving the T20i captaincy with the BCCI, he tried to persuade him not to do so.”
The matter is being looked at by the BCCI, as national selectors are not supposed to speak to the media.
A senior official said: “It will be (BCCI secretary) Jay’s (Shah) call as to what will be Chetan’s future.
“The question is whether T20 skipper Hardik Pandya or ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma would like to sit with Chetan in a selection meeting knowing that he has let out internal discussions.”
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