The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that it won’t tweak the newly-implemented guidelines, including the 14-day cap on family travelling with the players on overseas tours.
Following India’s debacle in the Test series against Australia, the BCCI had formulated a 10-point Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), wherein certain strict rules were implemented for the players and the support staff in order to develop team bonding.
Under the new policy, spouses and children (aged under 18) are allowed to accompany the members of the Indian contingent for up to two weeks if the tour lasts more than 45 days. This policy was experimented during the recent Champions Trophy.
Indian cricket team’s Virat Kohli celebrates with his wife Anushka Sharma after India won against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final cricket match, in Dubai, UAE.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Indian cricket team’s Virat Kohli celebrates with his wife Anushka Sharma after India won against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final cricket match, in Dubai, UAE.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
However, in a recent conclave, former India captain and star batter Virat Kohli sparked debate, saying, “If you ask any player, do you want your family to be around you all the time? You’ll be like, yes. I don’t want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. And then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. You finish that responsibility, and you come back to life…”
However, speaking to Sportstar, the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia clarified that the Board is in no mood to relax the rules. “The rules were implemented after rounds of discussions with the people who are at the helm of affairs,” Saikia said.
“This policy has not been formulated overnight as it was in place for the past couple of decades, dating back to the playing days of our president, Roger Binny and maybe earlier thereto,” he added.
Until early 2020, the BCCI had the policy of allowing families for a specific time period during overseas tours. However, the policy was amended during the COVID-19 when international cricket resumed in a bio-bubble model. Keeping the mental health of players in mind, the BCCI had then allowed the families to accompany the players until the completion of the tour. That continued till the Australia series.
“The new policy is an amendment of earlier one with some additions relating to presence of players practice sessions, during the course of the match, tours, unison in team movements and other ancillary activities with an objective to achieve team cohesion and unity,” Saikia said.
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“In fact, under the new policy, BCCI has enhanced the duration of the period of stay of the family members with players during an overseas tour with a handle for relaxation of the norms under special circumstances, however, through a process,” he added.
In case a player or member of the staff needs any relaxation, he needs to take necessary approval from the head coach and then the Board can take up the matter.
“While the policy applies uniformly to all members of the team — players, coaches, manager, support staff and all other members of the team— and has been notified and implemented considering everyone’s best interests, the BCCI acknowledges that there may be some resentment or difference of opinions, as in a democratic setup, people are entitled to express their views,” Saikia said.
<img src="https://ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/r3zw5a/article69349311.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/DSC_9605.JPG" data-original="https://ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/r3zw5a/article69349311.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/DSC_9605.JPG" alt="Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma during the practice session before Mumbai vs J&K Ranji Trophy Match at MCA BKC in Mumbai.” title=”Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma during the practice session before Mumbai vs J&K Ranji Trophy Match at MCA BKC in Mumbai.” class=” lazy” width=”100%” height=”100%”/>
Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma during the practice session before Mumbai vs J&K Ranji Trophy Match at MCA BKC in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma during the practice session before Mumbai vs J&K Ranji Trophy Match at MCA BKC in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
“At this stage, the current policy will remain intact without any change, as it is of paramount importance for the nation and our institution — BCCI…”
As per the new rules, all the players need to play domestic cricket when not on national duty in a bid to be eligible for selection into the national team. “But in case, a player has a genuine problem, then he must follow the protocol and take approvals from the chairman of selectors and the head coach citing genuine reasons, and if they accept the request, only then the players can be exempted from featuring in the domestic tournament,” Saikia said, making it clear that the Board is ‘very particular’ about it.
Nitin Patel’s extended contract to end on March 31
The BCCI secretary also clarified that Nitin Patel, the head of sports science at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, did not resign, but is on a three-month extension after his contract officially ended on December 31, 2024.
“We met him in Mumbai and requested him to continue and that’s why he was given a three-month extension. On March 31, his extension will also be over, and thereafter, we will be looking at a replacement for him,” Saikia told this publication.
Reports had earlier claimed that Patel had resigned. “That’s not true,” Saikia added.
