NEW DELHI: Barely a few days after India’s shock exit from the Twenty20 World Cup, the BCCI was on Friday left grappling with a fresh controversy when it came to light that many key players, including captain M S Dhoni, were selected in the England-bound squad despite carrying injuries.

The team physio Nitin Patel had cast a doubt at the fitness levels of as many as five key players in his report to the BCCI before the tournament but all of them were included in the squad. According to reports, the physio’s report had mentioned that captain Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, R P Singh and Zaheer Khan had injuries which needed treatment.

But despite getting the report before the selection committee meeting, the BCCI decided to select the players in the squad hoping that they would regain full fitness by the time the tournament got underway in England. But despite getting the report before the selection committee meeting, the BCCI decided to select the players in the squad hoping that they would regain full fitness by the time the tournament got underway in England.

It is a routine report which is given before every tour to assess the fitness of the players. Too much importance should not be attached to the report”, BCCI’s Media and Finance Committee Chairman Rajiv Shukla said.

At times you have to hide things: Dhoni on Viru’s injury
The mystery over Virender Sehwag’s injury just refuses to die down even after India’s campaign in England has ended. The media wanted to know what the levels of transparency are in the team when it comes to disclosing injuries. Dhoni finally came clear on the issue. ‘‘When the first MRI was done in India, it did not show anything. When the next MRI was done here, it showed he had a tear. At times, you cannot say everything because you want the opposition team to think of Sehwag, whether he is playing or not. I prefer announcing the team one hour before the game. At times you have to hide things.’’