Indian society doesn't allow girlfriends on tour: India manager Sunil Dev

There is a limit to how poor an excuse can be and Sunil Dev, the manager for India’s Test leg of the England tour, has managed to go way beyond it. Yesterday, there was a report in the Indian Express that revealed the BCCI’s decision to not allow girlfriends on tours anymore. Even wives will only be allowed to stay for a limited period of time. A top BCCI official told the paper, “From whatever information we have gathered, it’s been seen that even if players wanted to focus on their cricket, their wives were being a big distraction. When some wanted to go to the gym or do nets, they couldn’t do so because their wives wanted to explore the city." [caption id=“attachment_1676477” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Is it fair to blame Anushka for Kohli’s lack of form? [/caption] The BCCI was quick to issue a denial but then Sunil Dev’s statement gave the game away. In a report published by Mid-Day, the India manager voiced his ridiculous concerns. “I would have objected to her (Anushka Sharma’s) presence, but was helpless when I realised that permission was granted by BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) secretary Sanjay Patel. I doubt whether the secretary even spoke to the interim BCCI president Shivlal Yadav before granting permission,” Dev told Mid-Day. Dev was sure that the stand-in BCCI president Yadav would have turned down the request. “I am sure he (Yadav) would have turned down the request. Anushka stayed with Virat till the third Test. Foreign players do take their girlfriends on tours, but India’s culture is different. Indian society doesn’t allow girlfriends on tour like this.” Seriously, though, it is hard to see what girlfriends or wives have to do with the batsmen playing down the wrong line or bowlers running out of steam. And surely, India society had a problem with their failures as well. Why wouldn’t Dev talk about how technically inept the batsmen were or how the bowlers ran out of steam or how the coach Duncan Fletcher didn’t have a game plan in place or even how skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was unable to rouse the team after the defeat in the third Test? Instead, he chose the easy way out – one that is allowed by Indian society – and blame the women. Roger Federer travels with his family (he also used to travel with his girlfriend); Novak Djokovic does the same as does the German football team. The same is also true for F1 drivers, golfers and more sportsmen. There have also been cases where a break-up has helped. For example, the decision by Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki to go separate ways seems to have helped both athletes get back on track. But either which way it was a decision they took. India’s cricketers are intelligent enough to figure out if something isn’t working. They shouldn’t need the BCCI to babysit them. Now, this isn’t the first time the BCCI has looked to blame women. When the spot-fixing scandal first came to light, the Board – then led by Jagmohan Dalmiya – banned cheerleaders. The ban was overturned at a later date but still the BCCI’s sexist thought process was clear. Then, of course, we have the Indian women’s cricket team. They don’t get paid even half as much as their male counterparts; they don’t even get to play enough cricket. While the men regularly fly club class on longer flights, the women – who aren’t generating enough revenue – are often made to travel in economy class with long stop overs. There was also a case of them not getting paid their match fees for a year. Dev’s comments and the BCCI’s views only highlight how the Board views women as a distraction. And frankly, that is a shame.