The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued new guidelines to promote discipline and unity in the national team. A set of new policies has been revealed, in which, the players are advised not to invite family members for over two weeks during an overseas tour that would last more than 45 days. New guidelines also give clarity on the baggage policy as the cricketers won’t be accommodated to carry bags weighing more than 150 kgs on long tours and 120 kgs on tour that lasts less than 30 days.
Apart from that, all the central contract cricketers are advised to feature in domestic cricket more regularly. The senior cricketers, particularly captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli haven’t played domestic cricket in recent times and as per reports, BCCI expects them to feature in the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy. Both their Test careers are currently in jeopardy after a troubling tour of Australia.
All the players were also told to travel with the team during matchdays or practice sessions. Participation in official photoshoots has been encouraged and they have been told not to indulge in personal endorsement during a series. Interestingly, the governing body also restricted players from bringing in managers, chefs, assistants and personal security during a series or tournament.
The new set of rules is likely to be implemented during the England series, which is slated to begin on Wednesday, January 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Meanwhile, Rohit, Virat and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20Is after the T20 World Cup final in June 2024 and for the same, they are not part of the T20I series against England and are expected to feature in the upcoming round of Ranji Trophy.
However, neither of the players has made themselves available so far. In the meantime, X, formerly Twitter was flooded with memes after the new guidelines went viral on social media.
