BCCI to enforce stricter norms for players taking wives on overseas tours: Report
The officials seem to feel that the players’ performance is affected negatively on overseas tours if their families are with them for long;
India’s poor performance down under in the recently-concluded Test series and losing the Border-Gavaskar trophy to Australia seems to have had some repercussions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to introduce some tough rules that could curtail the freedom of players’ wives and families in accompanying them during long tours abroad, according to a report in Dainik Jagran.
The board reportedly intends to re-introduce a rule that was in effect before 2019, which limits the time families spend with players during the tours. The officials seem to feel that the players are not fully focussed on the job in hand and their performance is affected negatively on overseas tours if their families are with them for long durations.
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According to the new rule, for a tournament or a series lasting more than 45 days, the wife or family can stay with the player only for 14 days. However, for shorter tours, the limit on stay will be reduced to just seven days. The board will also insist that every player should travel in the team bus with the other members of the squad.
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Gambhir’s manager
The board has also mandated that Team India coach Gautam Gambhir’s manager Gaurav Arora will not be allowed to stay in the team hotel or be permitted to sit in the VIP box at stadiums.
He will also reportedly not be allowed to accompany Gambhir in the team bus.
Support staff
The board officials feel that another reason why the team’s performance has plateaued is because some of the support staff members have been with the team for a pretty long time. It has been suggested that their tenure in the team should be limited to three years to enable the infusion of fresh blood and new thinking.
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Rohit and Kohli
Given the under-performance of the veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the Australia tour, their future in the Indian Test team was also discussed.
Another decision that was made was that the BCCI would pay for players’ luggage up to 150 kg, and the cost for anything exceeding that would have to be borne by the players themselves.