Coming out strong, some stringent actions were undertaken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India following the poor show of Team India in Test matches against New Zealand and Australia. Team India lost a historical 0-3 whitewash at home to New Zealand and thereafter 1-3 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, which ensured that the side would not go into a third successive ICC World Test Championship final.
The BCCI is reportedly disgruntled owing to the team’s sharp decline following the high of winning the T20 World Cup last summer. If reports are to be believed, the board has already reacted by limiting the time players can spend with their wives and girlfriends during tours.
These decisions came after a Special General Meeting was held in Mumbai as the BCCI made a review of India’s underwhelming tour of Australia. In attendance was captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
The BCCI is reportedly planning to reinstate an old rule that was relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to this rule, family members will now not be allowed to travel with players for more than two weeks during overseas tours that last over 45 days. For shorter tours, the maximum stay is reduced to one week.
The board has also banned the practice of star players traveling separately to reach a city or from hotels to stadiums to play matches. This will affect quite a few top players like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who traveled with their wives during the recent Australian tour. Henceforth, the entire team travels together.
The BCCI has also restricted the number of bags players can carry on foreign tours and charge extra for extra weight.
In another key move, the Board barred the personal manager of head coach Gambhir from accompanying the team or a VIP box. The presence of Gambhir’s manager Gaurav Arora during the Australian tour had raised eyebrows as such an arrangement was unprecedented.
These strict measures are after reports of a sour dressing room atmosphere during the entire Australia tour. In fact, the news of spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement from international cricket came mid-tour. There were also signs of tension between Rohit and Gambhir, with a specific incident during a training session in Sydney ahead of the final Test.
Rohit, who had missed the opening Test in Perth after the birth of his son, made himself unavailable for the Sydney Test that India lost by six wickets. But he clarified that he is nowhere near retiring from Test cricket just as yet.
