BCCI issues curbs on personal staff, family travel, endorsement shoots during tours for centrally-contracted cricketers; violators may face IPL ban.
It’s three days since BCCI had an assessment review of the disaster down under. For emphasis on its seriousness, 10 guidelines were now sent to all centrally contracted India players. More to underline it, BCCI said a failure to abide by it can cause a player disciplinary actions – sanctions for being barred from appearing in the board-organised tournaments including IPL and the match fee deductions and annual contract that comes with his annual remittance.
Exceptions if any must be pre-approved by the head coach and chief selector, the policy document for Team India stated. After India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 in Australia earlier this month questions were raised about the team atmosphere and the cohesion in the side. As reported earlier by this paper, there have been variations in the setup and also in the aftermath of the defeat, apart from the performances of the established players, other issues cropped up in the review meeting which was attended by the top brass of the BCCI, captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. The BCCI, the latter stressing that playing domestic cricket is mandatory, is the second such notice in less than 12 months after former secretary Jay Shah had written one in the middle of the home series against England in February 2024. Since then, little has changed with top players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who all struggled in Australia, choosing not to turn up for the Duleep Trophy tournament
held before the start of the Test season. Immediately after the review meeting, only a handful of the players, including Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill, have agreed to play the next round of Ranji fixtures beginning on January 23, while there is still no word on whether Rohit, Kohli, and Jadeja will participate for their respective state units.
The BCCI has stated that these guidelines have been introduced to promote discipline, unity and a positive team environment as it has also banned the presence of personal chefs, security guards, hairdressers and stylists on tours.