BCCI limits family time on tours after coach Gautam Gambhir’s frustration: Source
The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to curb family time for the Indian players on international tours.
BCCI’s reaction came after two woeful Test series losses against New Zealand and Australia under the duo of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. India Today has now learnt that the suggestion to curb family time for the Indian team has come from none other than the head coach himself.
Speaking to India Today on the conditions of anonymity, sources said that Gambhir wants to root out the indiscipline in the Indian team and suggested that family time be limited on both short and long tours.
As per the new rules, if a tournament is a 45-day or longer event, families will only be allowed to stay with players for 14 days. In the case of shorter tours, the stay will be limited to only a week.
“Gautam Gambhir, during the review meeting, spoke about indiscipline in the Indian dressing room following the loss in the Border-Gavaskar series. Indiscipline is the reason why the BCCI is reverting to pre-COVID rules, allowing two weeks of family presence on tour. Gautam and the players were on the same page regarding the topic of family stays,” the source told the Mast Head under conditions of anonymity.
Gambhir has also suggested that the board and the team management need to be stricter with the junior players. Many senior and junior cricketers went out for dinners during the Australian tour. Sources suggest that only one team dinner happened in the tour of Australia which was spread across November 2024-January 2025.
‘Don’t Distribute Match Fees Immediately’
Not only Gambhir, but also a senior India player, present in the meeting with BCCI president Roger Binny suggested that the match fees should not be distributed immediately. The suggestion was the match fees should directly be proportional to the performance in the game.
“One senior player, who was present at the meeting, suggested to the BCCI that the match fee should not be distributed immediately. Instead, players’ performance should be considered before disbursing the fee, as some players are not prioritising domestic and national team commitments,” sources said.
It is also understood that on the sidelines of the first T20I against England in Kolkata, a meeting may take place between Gautam Gambhir and a BCCI official amidst ongoing controversies.