BCCI organises road-map meeting

Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid have taken part in a high-level meeting, the first of its kind, to discuss the road map for the next one year (2016-17) in Indian cricket. The meeting, which took place in Bangalore on Sunday, was organised by the BCCI, which said the primary idea was to bring "all stakeholders on the same page".

Apart from the two captains and the coaches of India's senior and junior sides, the meeting was attended by Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, Venkatesh Prasad, the head of the junior selection committee, WV Raman and Narendra Hirwani (batting and spin bowling coaches at the National Cricket Academy), Patrick Farhat (India physio), Andrew Leipus (NCA physio), Shankar Basu (India trainer), and MV Sridhar, the BCCI's general manager.

The brainstorming session lasted a few hours with the main motive of setting in place plans to lift India to the top of the world rankings, and how the various support systems could play a role in fulfilling that goal. "Issues ranging from domestic cricket set-up, India A tours, injury management and workload of the players, and strengthening the bench strength of Indian cricket were discussed in detail to synchronise the efforts of everyone working for the betterment of Indian cricket," a BCCI release said.

According to Kumble, who was recently appointed India's head coach, the meeting was a "very fruitful" exercise. "Sitting here, we all have one intention and agenda: To align our actions to maximise the potential of Indian cricket. For that we all need to work as one unit."

Other members attending the meeting said it was a significant development and they welcomed the idea of the free exchange of information and everyone being kept in the loop. It is understood both Dhoni and Kohli were keen to ensure players' fitness reports were monitored properly so they were in peak fitness and ready to play before they were picked for a series.