In a shocking revelation, BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma claimed that many Indian cricketers take injections to pass fitness tests when they are only 80% fit, adding that cricketers play smart to avoid doping.
The 57-year-old was heard saying in a sensational sting operation that Indian players have their own doctors outside of cricket who are always available for them.
"If they are fit for only 85%... they tell us to let them play but medical science doesn't clear them, this problem comes...the player wants to play, the player never refuses. But if he can't even bow down like Bumrah, what will he do? One or two major injuries occur.
"Otherwise, even at 80%, these people...they're such scumbags, they'll go to the corner and take an injection and say they're fit," Sharma told Zee News.
"This is not a pain reliever. They get injections and no one knows about it. The player will have to take a prescription for a pain reliever and will be caught in anti-doping; they know which injection will not be caught in anti-doping. They are huge celebrities. They'll make only one phone call. There are a thousand doctors who will come at night and inject them "He went on to say.
When asked how he allowed such things to happen, Sharma said it's impossible to keep an eye on players 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"You play games, you stay at the stadium until 6:00 p.m., there is team management, there is everything... but when it all settles down. You exit the bus and return to your room. I can't keep a man on your tail all the time. What are you doing, where are you going, and who are you going to meet? "Sharma asserted.
"I, too, have a life... I also need to get somewhere. I have to walk, I have to go to dinner, and everyone has their own schedule "He went on to say.
"When a player grows a little bigger, he thinks he's grown a lot bigger. He has grown to be larger than the board. Then he believes that no one can harm him. He can't even make my hair bend. Cricket in India will come to a halt without me. Is this something that has ever happened? A lot of big ones came and went. Cricket is still the same. So he attempted to hit the President at the time," he explained.
"He (Virat) said... Sourav Ganguly had never said anything like this to me before" (about re-considering the captaincy role). As a result, it became a major issue. The President either lied or Virat is telling the truth. It grew into a major issue... and then there was an uproar.
This is the ego conflict. He (Virat) thinks I'm big... He (Ganguly) thinks I'm big. Sourav Ganguly has also served as the country's captain. He is still regarded as the most successful captain despite his size and trustworthiness. Virat believes he is the most successful. "He (Virat) said he (Ganguly) is lying... and then there was a fight," he added.