The new ten-point guideline, structured by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for the senior men’s team, has been sent to all the state associations that will be hosting the T20I and ODI games against England in the coming weeks, as the reports have confirmed. The tour opener will begin on January 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Snehasish Ganguly, confirmed that all the arrangements had been made for the players of India by the policy document on January 19 (Sunday), the first day of the training at the Eden Gardens.
“In keeping with the BCCI’s 10-point guidelines for players, the Cricket Association of Bengal has not arranged any separate means of conveyance (for individual players). Only a team bus has been arranged for the Indian team. There won’t be any personal vehicles for the cricketers.” Senior Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.
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A few days ago, on the ten-point guideline of the BCCI, it was revealed that all the players are expected to travel with the team to and from the matches and practice sessions to grow team bonding and a smooth atmosphere along with unity.
India’s players follow the new guideline on a team-bus journey- reports
The decision was made last week during their review meeting in Mumbai after the poor Test results for India, where they lost the three-match home series against New Zealand by a 0-3 margin before losing the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 by a 3-1 margin. All of these points were spoken before the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, the Test and ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
The policy document also claimed that in the future, players will need to have pre-approval from the head coach and the head selectors to travel separately from the rest of the squad to training or matches. All the players of the entire session or the game will need to head back together.
That will ensure a clinical work ethic among the players. A few questions were raised on the rules among the players of India, including the T20 World Cup-winning captain, Rohit Sharma. However, Agarkar seemed to be comfortable with the new structure.
“I think we’ll probably talk about it endlessly if we keep going on. I suppose every team has some rules in place. We’ve spoken about various things over the last few months where you can improve as a team, and where you can get a bit closer as a team. It’s not a school. It’s not a punishment.” The former all-rounder of India expressed.
The Mumbai-born also explained that a few certain rules will have to be followed when one is representing the country.
“When you’re playing for the national team, you just follow those rules. Again, these are mature individuals. They are superstars in their own right. But at the end of the day, you’re eventually representing your country. There are certain things that you just inherently follow as every team does.” Agarkar shed light.
One of the significant points was the importance of domestic games for India’s top players to keep in the frame of selection. The head coach of the blue brigade, on the last day of the BGT 2024-25, addressed that any players not engaged with the national duties will need to go back and work on their game in the domestic circuit.
A breach of this rule can see the individual getting banned from any BCCI-held tournament, including the Indian Premier League, and a drop in the central contract.