The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) has taken a bold step regarding the travel of Indian cricket team during their tours. According to the reports, BCCI has directed that it will not take care of lodging of cricketers’ wife, girlfriend or family during Team India’s tours.
Earlier, BCCI even sent a proposal to the Supreme Court directed Committee of Administrators (CoA) asking for the separate manager who could take care of the lodging and boarding especially for the cricketers’ wives and girlfriends during their tours.
However, the CoA rejected the proposal stating that it was the cricketers’ responsibility to take care of their travel companions and that the board will not be accountable for the stay of any of the family members. They also made it clear that other than team manager there won’t be any separate manager for any purpose.
Prior to CoA decision, BCCI even appointed Mayank Parikh for managing the wives of the cricketers separately. Currently, on the South African tour, a majority of Indian cricketers like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha are accompanied by their respective wives or family members.
Later, on January 3, CoA head Vinod Rai rejected the board’s plan and said that there was no need for an extra manager as an officer named Rishikesh Upadhyay was already looking after the team members and their needs.
Also, according to the reports, the board has allowed the players’ families to stay in South Africa for just two weeks, which means that they will have to return after the first Test match ends in Newlands.
India lost the first match at Newlands, Cape Town by 72 runs on January 4. The Indian batting lineup badly struggled against the Protea pace attack and couldn’t chase down the target of 208 runs. The second Test match will be played in Centurion on January 13.