BCCI still hasn’t filled Sports Science Head role at CoE
Nearly nine months after Nitin Patel stepped down, the BCCI is yet to name a new Head of Sports Science for its Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, officials said on December 22, 2025. The top post at the high-profile facility—key to fitness tracking, injury rehab and workload planning across India’s cricket ecosystem—continues to lie vacant, prompting questions over how smoothly the sports science set-up is being run for the country’s players.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said Bengaluru-based CoE officials had shortlisted several candidates, including Australian expert Andrew Leipus, who withdrew for personal reasons, and that the board hopes to finalise a new appointment soon. Without a dedicated sports science head, the CoE’s fitness and rehabilitation programmes risk losing momentum during a period of squad preparation for upcoming international tours.
“We were close to securing a top candidate,” Saikia told Times of India, stressing the search continues. Experts note the role’s absence could affect long-term conditioning support across formats.
The CoE first advertised the position — requiring leadership in athlete performance and injury prevention — earlier in 2025 but applications closed with no hire made yet.