'BCCI family policy won't change' - Secretary Devajit Saikia after Virat Kohli's complaint

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) has confirmed that it won't be changing its current guidelines regarding the travel of Indian players on overseas tours. Earlier Virat Kohli had expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision.

Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru event ahead of the IPL, had said that every player from the Indian team would like to have their family around whenever they are touring overseas.

"If you ask any player, do you want your family to be around you all the time? They'll be like, yes. I don't want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. And then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. You finish that responsibility, and you come back to life," Virat Kohli was quoted as saying after a recent event in Bengaluru.

"At this stage, the current policy will remain intact, as it is of paramount importance to both the nation and our institution, the BCCI," Devajit Saikia told Cricbuzz in an interview.

"The BCCI recognises that there may be some resentment or differing opinions, as in a democratic setup, people are entitled to express their views. The policy is applied uniformly to all team members - players, coaches, managers, support staff, and everyone involved - and has been implemented with the best interests of everyone in mind," he added.

 BCCI's rule:

• Players absent from India for more than 45 days during overseas tours can be joined by their partners and children (under 18) for one visit per series (format-wise) of up to two weeks.
• The BCCI will cover shared accommodation with the player for the visitors' period. All other expenses are to be borne by the player.
• Visits must be scheduled at a single time during dates agreed upon by the Coach, Captain, and GM Operations.
• Any deviation from this policy must be pre-approved by the coach, captain, and GM Operations. Additional expenses outside the visitors' period will not be covered by the BCCI.

Policies are not formed overnight, says Devajit Saikia

The BCCI secretary pointed out that these policies have not been formed just overnight and have been in place for a long time in Indian Cricket. He also added that the families of Indian cricketers were not allowed on tours before the Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri era. However, it was changed over time. 

"This policy has not been formulated overnight; it has been in place for decades, dating back to the playing days of our president, Roger Binny - and possibly even earlier," he said.

"The new policy is an amendment of the previous one, with additional provisions regarding players' presence at practice sessions, match schedules, tours, luggage, team movements, and other ancillary activities, all aimed at the objective of team cohesion and unity," he added.