BCCI bars wives, family from accompanying players on tours to better performance; action taken against Gambhir’s manager

In the wake of India’s poor show in Test cricket, where they suffered an unprecedented 0-3 loss against New Zealand at home and lost 1-3 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, the BCCI reportedly took the strict action of barring wives and family from accompanying players on the tours in a bid to improve performance. The decision was taken after the BCCI review meeting on Saturday in Mumbai, which was attended by board officials, head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma.

According to a report in Dainik Jagran, BCCI decided to re-introduce the old rule, which was scrapped during Covid-19. An official working in the Mumbai office of the BCCI told the national daily that wives and family members will not be allowed to travel with the players of the Indian team for the entire tour. The board officials believe that staying with the players during the tour, especially during overseas assignments, affects their performance. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, wives and families of many cricketers were in Australia for the entire duration of the tour.

According to the new rule, for a tournament or a series lasting more than 45 days, the wife or family can stay with the player only for 14 days. However, for shorter tours, the limit on stay will be reduced to just seven days.

BCCI also set a strict rule saying that no player will be allowed to travel separately. It has been reportedly imposed after the board officials witnessed that oer the last few years, some of the Indian players have travelled separately instead of going with the team bus. “Keeping in view the team unity, now all the players will travel by the team bus only. No matter how big a player is, he will not be allowed to travel separately,” read the report.

BCCI takes action against Gautam Gambhir’s manager

Gambhir’s manager, Gaurav Arora, has been travelling with the Indian team on tours. This has supposedly never happened before in Indian cricket, and hence, BCCI took strong action against it. The report added that Arora would no longer be allowed to stay in the same hotel as the Indian team or be allowed to sit in the VIP box in stadiums. He has also been barred from availing the team bus