BCCI May Limit Wives Presence on Tours After Australia Loss

As India aims to bounce back from Test series losses to New Zealand and Australia, BCCI has pinpointed team bonding and fitness as key areas for improvement.

The board has received strong feedback from head coach Gautam Gambhir on these issues, and it will reassess his role after next month's Champions Trophy.

At a meeting between the BCCI, Gautam Gambhir, captain Rohit Sharma, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, it was suggested that there should be limits on the time players spend with wives/partners during long tours. The issue of some players preferring to travel alone and requesting separate accommodation was also discussed.

BCCI feels team bonding missing

Gambhir's involvement with the team off the field has also been questioned, and he may be advised to focus more on team bonding exercises.

According to a BCCI source, "The board is a bit concerned that a team which has been so consistent across formats for more than half a decade is suddenly struggling to click with almost the same set of players. It comes down to a lack of galvanising force in the team. It has emerged that players are consumed in their individual lives once they are done with training or a game.” 

Further, "Players these days have their families around along with a big entourage. Some have even requested to stay in different hotels and a few have made their own travel arrangements within the country. These players are barely seen with the rest of the team. The board is contemplating restricting the length of stay for families to two weeks on a lengthy tour," the source added.

A key observation from the meeting emphasized the need to rebuild team spirit beyond game time, according to the source, "One expected the team to have a customary celebratory team dinner after India won the first Test in Perth. Instead, everyone in the squad went out in groups.”

“Gambhir went out with his own people. There was only one team dinner during the two-month tour. Previous team management used to organize outdoor activities with the entire team. It helps in building team spirit," the source said.

Gambhir has discontinued the culture of optional training sessions for this reason. He believes the entire team should train together to improve synergy, stating that it's ineffective for only a few players to show up for practice.

Return to strict fitness levels?

It has been suggested that the BCCI medical team should reinstate fitness criteria for selection, rather than solely focusing on injury prevention. The previous team management had removed the yo-yo test, which was a key parameter for selection during Virat Kohli's captaincy.

"The board had gone lenient on the players since they are mostly on the road. The focus had shifted to just injury prevention. This has been taken lightly by some players. It is being mooted that a certain fitness level criteria needs to be reintroduced so that complacency doesn't creep in," the source said.