 "The biggest takeaway from the BCCI's new rules was the focus on building a stronger team culture by cutting down on private travel and staying until the end of a series or a tour. AP")
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally gone public with their new rules and regulations for the Indian cricket team after they were widely reported across several media outlets, including Firstpost, earlier this week. The restrictions are the BCCI’s way of cracking the whip on an Indian team that is seen by many as the most pampered in the cricketing world, and it hardly comes as a surprise after their shambolic performances in recent Test assignments.
Not only did the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team suffer a historic 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home, they also surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after a decade with a 1-3 series loss Down Under . There have been calls not only to sack Rohit as captain after India lost six of their last seven Tests with him in charge, but to drop him as well as Virat Kohli from the Test side altogether with the two stalwarts woefully out of form in recent months.
While the BCCI has decided against taking any stern action against Rohit and Kohli as well as against head coach Gautam Gambhir for now, they have placed a number of restrictions on the Indian team.
Here are key takeaways from the BCCI’s 10-point diktat:
Focus on a stronger team culture
One of the key takeaways from the recently-concluded tour of Australia was a broken Indian dressing room, which did not even celebrate the thumping 295-run victory together. A majority of the points listed in the document released by the BCCI focuses on building a stronger team culture rather than one that gets divided into separate groups beyond the official hours of play, which was the case Down Under.
Also Read | Why BCCI’s restrictions on family members, private travel is a positive step for Indian cricket
Among the measures introduced by the board is cutting down on players traveling separately with their families instead of with the rest of the team. Star players such as Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are known to travel on their own, often accompanied by their family members, with the former even getting into a heated exchange with a female reporter at the Melbourne airport during the Australia Test series for filming his children without his consent.
Impact Shorts
View AllPlayers, additionally, are not permitted to leave practice sessions early, and are required to stay for the entire duration of the session and travel back to the team hotel together. And if they will have to stay with the team until the scheduled end of a series or tour, regardless of whether matches concluded earlier than planned.
Cutting down on family time
Looks like the days of blaming Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma for husband Kohli’s problems with the bat are back. There used to be a time when the presence of wives or girlfriends during tours was blamed for a player’s lack of contributions with bat or ball, or even for the team’s inability to win if said wife or girlfriend was associated with the captain.
Among the key talking points in the BCCI’s restrictions on players in the aftermath of the Australia tour is the limit set on the time family members can spend with a player during foreign tours. For a tour comprising 45 or more days, a player’s partner and their children (under the age of 18) can travel for a maximum of two weeks, for which the BCCI will be covering expenses for shared accommodation.
“The family travel policy ensures a balance between players’ personal well-being and team commitments,” read a statement from the board in the document shared on Thursday.
No more personal managers/staff
The presence of Gautam Gambhir’s personal manager Gaurav Arora in the tour of Australia certainly did raise eyebrows. Not only did Arora travel with the Indian team, he even had access to the VIP box at venues.
“Personal staff (e.g., personal managers, chefs, assistants and security) are to be restricted on tours or series unless explicitly approved by the BCCI. This ensures that the focus remains on team operations and minimizes logistical challenges. – this has to be done away with,” read the statement from the BCCI.
Had Gambhir delivered a morale-boosting victory as a coach instead of a string of defeats since he succeeded Rahul Dravid as head coach in July, this point might not have been discussed in the first place. And yet here we are.
Taking domestic cricket and BCCI events more seriously
Taking domestic cricket, especially the prestigious Ranji Trophy, more seriously is something that several former India cricketers – including legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev – have been advising members of the Indian cricket team for quite some time now. Especially since the current generation of cricketers are hardly able to handle spin in their own conditions as their predecessors used to.
Then-BCCI secretary Jay Shah had made participation in last year Duleep Trophy – which took place just before the home Test season – compulsory, and several A-listers including Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, etc had played at least one match during the tournament. Rohit, Kohli and retired spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin, however, had skipped the tournament , and while Ashwin had a mixed run before retiring midway during the tour of Australia, Ro-Ko struggled badly.
The BCCI has now made it “mandatory” for players – including seniors – to participate in domestic matches in order to remain eligible for selection as well as for central contracts, and exceptions will be made “only under extraordinary circumstances”.
“This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure. It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression,” the BCCI said.
And it’s not just domestic cricket though – players will also have to take BCCI shoots and functions more seriously and will have to make themselves available for them if required.