The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly taking a tough stand on issues of indiscipline among Indian cricketers, with new regulations being discussed to streamline player conduct and commitment.
A BCCI source revealed, "Indian cricketers are indiscipline. Gautam [Gambhir] and one senior player are on the same page on the topic of family stay." The players will also be barred from taking independent transport to commute during practice and matches.
For a tour of 45 days, the family members of the players can only be with them for not more than 14 days. Meanwhile, during shorter tours in foreign countries, the immediate family members of a play can stay up to a week.
Additionally, a senior player suggested a bold move during a recent meeting withholding match fees from players who choose to skip domestic tournaments.
"One senior player was in the meeting to suggest the idea to BCCI of not distributing the match fee to players those who doesn't want to play domestic," the source added.
In a bid to further enforce discipline, the BCCI has also decided to bar players from travelling with personal staff, including cooks, hairdressers, stylists, or personal security guards, on tours. "Players are not allowed to travel with their personal staff (cook, hairdresser, stylist, no personal security guard) on tour any more," the source further stated.
The board's stringent measures are aimed at ensuring a more professional and unified team culture while prioritizing the development of cricket at all levels.
Team India conceded a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and lost the opportunity to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord's.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli came under fire for an underwhelming Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign and overall a very disappointing 2024/25 season of Test cricket.
Sharma (31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20) and Virat Kohli (190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75 with a century) lacked big time with the bat. Virat fell for the outside-off-stump trap throughout the series, most notably by pacer Scott Boland who dismissed him four times.
The 2024-25 season of Tests has been miserable for 'Ro-Ko' (Rohit and Kohli). While Rohit scored just 164 runs in eight matches and 15 innings at an average of 10.93 with best score of 52, Virat scored a shambolic 382 runs in 10 matches and 19 innings at an average of 22.87, with just a century and fifty each.
