The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering taking a series of disciplinary measures after the disappointing tour of Australia, including limiting the presence of cricketers’ wives on overseas tours and barring coaches and players’ managers from traveling in the team bus.
If BCCI takes this decision, then on tours of 45 days or more, players will be able to keep their wives and other family members with them only for two weeks. If the tour is for less than 45 days then this period can be of one week.
Apart from this, players cannot travel in any other vehicle during foreign tours and will have to use the team bus only. Most players follow this rule but on some occasions players and support staff members use other vehicles. These topics were discussed in the review meeting called on the disappointing performance of the Australia tour but none of them have been implemented with immediate effect.
The issue of managers of players and coaches traveling on the team bus came to the fore when the manager of a senior member of the coaching staff was allowed to travel on the team bus during the tour of Australia. India lost the five-match series 1–3.
A senior BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity, “Even the members of the anti-corruption unit are on alert when a private manager travels in the team bus. This will be controlled in future. As far as presence of wives during foreign tours is concerned, it was discussed in the meeting and a decision will be taken soon. ,
He said, “Apart from this, all players and coaches should travel by team bus only.” This has always been happening but for some time now it has been seen that players have started using other vehicles also.” Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is surprised by BCCI’s new order regarding the team bus.
“It seems a bit strange that all the players will have to travel in the team bus,” Chopra wrote on Twitter. Was there no such criteria? If this is not happening then it is important to find out who changed it and why. During the Australia tour, the wife of a reserve player made a video for her YouTube channel which shows behind-the-scenes footage of the team and also includes footage of the journey on the team bus.
The source said that another rule that could be implemented is related to players’ luggage during travel. If the weight of a player’s luggage exceeds 150 kg then BCCI will not pay for that extra weight. The player will have to pay it himself. The team management including captain Rohit Sharma and selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar also participated in this review meeting. The next foreign tour of the Indian Test team will be in June. Indian team will go on England tour.
