Part one of the BCCI rules can be read here.
Duration of the families
The BCCI has said on tours of 45 days or more, players’ immediate families – partners and children (up to 18 years old) – can be with them for no more than 14 days. The families can visit only once and their travel arrangements have to be made by the player in question after a nod from the coach, captain and the BCCI’s general manager of operations.
Spending quality time with the family is ofcourse important but that must not come at the cost of one’s own performance or that of the team. Families beyond a point and within the walls of a hotel, will prove to be a distraction. It will also increase the anxiety of the players who will constantly monitor whether their family is safe in a distant land. Just think about those kids. I mean, at their age, what are they going to do in a hotel room? They must be outside playing with their friends but here they are at a hotel with no one to play with. These children are bound to distract the player rather than inspire them.
Far too often, the camera pans straight to Kohli or Rohit’s family more than the team dugout. Sometimes, it feels like we are watching a movie shoot.
Personal staff
This is mindblowing. I for one never thought that the players take their cooks and bouncers on tours. This is highly ridiculous. I am not sure who started this concept. It surely is one from this millennium. Virat Kohli, for example, goes out on his own in London where he is living. He is not scared to do so. It does not make any sense to take the security alongwith him when they tour. All these players can have all they want, cooks, bouncers, hair stylist and anything and everything when they are not on national duty. The other question is are they all present throughout the day? Dressing room, hotels, stadium etc. Imagine the chaos this creates, not to mention the serious issue of match-fixing creeps its ugly head through these people.
Domestic cricket mandatory
“Participation in domestic matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts, as per BCCI guidelines. This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure. It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression.”
This is a really good move. The modern cricketers, just do not turn up for their states in Ranji Trophy. It has been over 10 years since either Kohli or Rohit played for their state. The excuse that you often get is that there is no time. This is nothing but humbug. There is time but the players do not want to go through the grind of Ranji. The moment they play for India, they seem to think that they are not mortals and that everyone must worship them.
“But the last six-seven years – I can at least tell about what has happened with me since I’ve started playing Test cricket regularly, which is from 2019 – you hardly have any time. When you play so much international cricket through the year, you need some time off as well as a cricketer just to refresh, get your mind right, just to be ready for the upcoming season. But we have addressed it now and nobody takes it for granted or anything like that.”
The punishment to not adhering to these guidelines ranges from deduction from the retainer fees, non selection in the national team and more importantly, the IPL. Now, the last part, reneging on IPL contracts will surely not happen if a player is indisciplined because the board will be reluctant to take on the might of the franchises.
Other unwanted guidelines
Excess baggage. I do not understand what was the need for this guideline. Ofcourse the kits are heavy but I don’t think that any player is going to carry 80KGS with him. Participation in BCCI’s function and photo shoots. This is another unwanted burden on the players. Players returning home early. I think that this guideline has been imposed after the Ashwin situation where he returned in India right in the middle of the series.
What about the BCCI itself?
All the guidelines for the players are probably what they deserve but what about the BCCI itself? Who is going to ask them to follow guidelines? Don’t they think that it is stupid enough to schedule matches after matches? IPL runs for close to 3 months during the period which was traditionally a period for rest and rehabilitation. A period during which the players can work on their game. That has been taken away. Who is to blame for that? What about the shoddy conditions at the stadiums for the paying public?
What about their sole motive of making money all the time? How is that India despite the fact that there are more than a million active players, is not able to produce several fast bowlers and high quality batsmen for all pitches and conditions? Given the same resources in the hands of England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, their teams will be the undisputed best ever, whereas the Indian team gets wiped out at home.
Wrapping up The BCCI rules
It is all well and good to frame guidelines but the real question is, will it be implemented strictly? A couple of years down the line, no one is going to follow any of these rules and the BCCI will be impotent to implement them. Why two years, it is already happening. Kohli and Rahul have told the BCCI that they will not appear for the state teams in the next round of Ranji games. Kohli said that he has taken an injection for neck pain. It sounded ridiculous. I mean, who takes injections for neck pain? Whatever the BCCI says, star players like Kohli will not give two hoots to it. They will be bent on clashing with the BCCI. Unless BCCI implements them forcefully even on star players, the rest will not follow.