New protocols initiated by the BCCI will see limited family involvement abroad as stricter directives have now ensued.
New protocols have been issued by the BCCI with regards to Indian players traveling on overseas tours.
The BCCI is prepared to impose more stringent rules on the Indian cricket team, such as restricting the amount of time players spend with their families while on tour and preventing them from using private transport to get to practices and games.
Players’ immediate families, including their partners and kids, are only permitted to accompany them for a maximum of 14 days on tours lasting 45 days or longer, and not at all during the first two weeks. Families may travel with players for up to a week on shorter tours.
These guidelines were previously included in player contracts, but they were loosened during the COVID-19 epidemic when players were allowed to include their families in the team bubble while still taking their mental health into consideration.
Following the tour of Australia, India’s captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar met with the BCCI office bearers for the first time on Saturday in Mumbai. The decision to go back to the previous procedures was communicated to the team leadership.
All players must ride the team bus as part of these procedures, which is a long-standing custom that some players are alleged to have broken recently.
Currently, the BCCI covers the families’ lodging while on tour, but not their airfare. As long as the length and date of the stay comply with the procedures, that policy won’t be altered.
The question of whether and for how long players’ partners and kids should be permitted to travel with them has long been a source of contention for sports organisations. Families working for the team is exemplified by the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, although there are other instances of teams prohibiting partners from team housing.
The 2019 Copa America was won by Brazil while visiting partners were prohibited. During the 2012 Olympics, swimmers from Australia publicly criticised a similar prohibition, citing feelings of demotivation and loneliness.
There are no definitive answers to this subject in Indian cricket. Virat Kohli, the captain at the time, reportedly asked to loosen the New protocols in 2018, which was the last time the topic of families’ attendance was brought up.
The current coach, Gambhir, told India Today then: “The player opinion varies. Only an individual can say because the individual has to play a Test match. Some want 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.”