BCCI's culinary solution: Two personal chefs to serve Team India on tours

After the T20 World Cup 2024 win, things have not panned out well for the Indian team in the longer format. India were whitewashed by New Zealand at home and they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia by a 1-3 margin. This got them ousted from playing the World Test Championship 2025 final. Subsequently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken some strict measures after the setbacks. 

It was reported that the BCCI unveiled new guidelines for the team. One such guideline reads wives and girlfriends not accompany the players on tours and the cap for the same was set for a maximum of two weeks. Furthermore, the reports also added that the players who were travelling with their own chefs would not be allowed to do so from now onwards. 

According to the latest reports, in another guideline, the Indian board has decided to send two personal chefs on tours who will cater to the whole team. These chefs will be well equipped with the dietary needs of athletes and help them overcome major physical hurdles by balancing their food consumption adjacent to the recovery process. 

"The team has been given an option where the board will arrange two chefs for the players' needs. However, there will be discussions around the specific needs of the players and what more can be done," a BCCI source told the Times of India (TOI).

"The issue is whether two chefs can cook personalised meals for so many players. The players have their favourite food and recipes that complement each other according to the suggested diet. Some may miss home-cooked food on long tours and the chefs design the menu accordingly," the source further continued.

BCCI is trying to ensure premium food quality for its players: Source

The source also iterated that the players are expected to be quite cautious regarding their nutrition intake. Especially, under the circumstances of sustaining serious injuries, the chefs play a vital role in balancing out other body vitals which are needed to keep under check while recovering.

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"Certain players have to be extra careful with their diet, especially if they have overcome serious injuries which command watching their weight and other vitals. These chefs are very particular about the quality of ingredients used in cooking the meals. BCCI is trying to work around it to ensure premium food quality for its players," he concluded.