"In Zaheer's case I was not consulted (by the BCCI)", Dr Joshi said.
According to Joshi, Zaheer's injury and its treatment shows very clearly there needs to be better co-ordination between the physio and the surgeon in treating injuries.
"One has to have a balance while taking decisions as far as surgery or rehab is concerned.
It should be a joint decision between a physio and a surgeon. One should neither rush into a surgical treatment nor drag the physiotherapy treatment too long.
Both should strike a fine balance together," Dr Joshi told TV9 news channel.
Zaheer sustained the injury in mid-May while playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League held in South Africa.
But he waited till July 13 before going under the surgeon''s scalpel in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The left-arm pacer carried his injury into the Twenty20 World Cup that followed the IPL in June in England and underwent the surgery much later after skipping the next tour by India to the West Indies. He's now expected to be out of action till the end of this year.
Expecting Zaheer's recovery time to last from four to six months, Dr Joshi feels a nodal sports medicine centre with several branches is the ideal way to treat injuries to cricketers in India.
"I do not think that having a couple of therapists - a physio and a trainer - is adequate for a country like India.
We should have a nodal agency with state-of-the-art facilities as well as zonal infrastructure and a referral centre where coaches, physios and surgeons can work together", he said.
Dr Joshi had brought flamboyant batsman Yuvraj Singh back on his feet without surgery on his injured knee before the last World Cup in the West Indies.
Dr Joshi said Yuvraj's recovery was successful because his progress was monitored closely for two months and, after seeing improvements in his muscle strength, he (Dr Joshi) decided to go ahead with non-surgical management.
