The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set some strict protocols as the reports have suggested for the blue brigade, which include the limitation of family time on tour and barring independent transport of the players for practice and matches.
It has been reported that on tours of 45 or more days, the player’s families in India, including their partners and children, can be with them for no more than two weeks and not at all during the first two weeks of the trip. On short tours, the limitation will come down to a week for the families accompanying the players.
The directions are not new and were part of the player contracts in the past but were relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic when players were given the option to make their families part of the bubble, keeping their mental health and state in mind.
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India’s regular Test captain Rohit Sharma, their head coach Gautam Gambhir, and the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar met the office bearers of the BCCI on Saturday for the very first time after the end of the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 that they went on to lose by a 3-1 margin. The leadership department of the side was informed of the return of their earlier protocols.
Gautam Gambhir insisted on limiting family time for India on tours
The part of the protocols will mandate that all the players would need to travel in the team bus, a time-honored practice which is quite surprising that it has been made to happen.
Recent reports have claimed that the head coach of India, Gautam Gambhir, wanted to have that discipline in the squad but limited the family time on both long and short tours.
“Gautam Gambhir, during the review meeting, spoke about indiscipline in the Indian dressing room following the loss in the Border-Gavaskar series. Indiscipline is the reason why the BCCI is reverting to pre-COVID rules, allowing two weeks of family presence on tour. Gautam and the players were on the same page regarding the topic of family stays.” The source expressed the conditions of the development as quoted by India Today.
The junior and senior players have been suggested to go for dinner only with the team, which has become quite rare in recent times. The association of the sports side and the family has been a long-time story. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) of the Indian Premier League (IPL) believe that the presence of the families helps the players in tough times.
On the other hand, there are so many examples of teams banning their partners at team meetings. Brazil won the 2019 Copa America when their partners were banned, while Australia’s swimmers in the 2012 Olympics complained of loneliness and demotivation.
“The player opinion varies. Only an individual can say because the individual has to play a Test match. Some want the family to be there for the whole tour, while others want little family time and they try to concentrate. Whatever the decision, it should be taken in the best interest of Indian cricket.” Gambhir expressed to India today when Virat Kohli asked to relax these rules in 2018.
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Roger Binny, the BCCI president, suggested that the match fees of the players should depend on their performance and shouldn’t be distributed immediately.
“One senior player, who was present at the meeting, suggested to the BCCI that the match fee should not be distributed immediately. Instead, players’ performance should be considered before disbursing the fee, as some players are not prioritizing domestic and national team commitments.” The sources mentioned as quoted by the reports.
India’s next assignment now will be against England in the five-match T20I series at home.