After the defeat against Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has implemented some new strict rules for Team India players and their families. According to these rules, if a tournament is 45 days or longer, players can stay with their families for only 14 days.
If the tournament is shorter, this time will be limited to 7 days. Under this decision, it has been made clear that the players’ wives cannot stay with them during the entire tournament. The family will be allowed to stay together for only 2 weeks, which is stricter than the earlier rules. Additionally, the BCC has also decided that all players will now travel in the team bus only, and they will not be allowed to use any other mode of transport. The purpose of this decision is to maintain equality among the team and make the journey more organized and disciplined.
Under the new rules, Gautam Gambhir’s personal manager will also no longer be allowed to sit in the VIP box or team bus. He will be asked to stay in a hotel separate from the team. Earlier, Gambhir’s personal manager was given special facilities many times, but now it will not happen under the rules. BCC has taken this decision so that all the players get facilities at the same level and any kind of inequality can be prevented. Apart from this, BCC has also made it clear that if the player’s luggage is more than 150 kg, then the board will not pay the extra baggage fee. This means that the players will have to control their luggage and travel accordingly.
BCC had a review meeting with Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir after the Australia series. These new rules were discussed in this meeting, so that the performance of the team could be improved. BCC also decided during this time that the team’s structure will be considered while avoiding any kind of haste, so that there is no negative impact before an important tournament like the Champions Trophy.
Performance of the Indian team on the Australia tour
The Indian team had to face a shameful defeat of 1-3 in the recently concluded five-match Border Gavaskar Test series against Australia. Due to this defeat, the Indian team could not enter the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). This was a big setback for Indian cricket as the Indian team did not qualify for the WTC final in any of the first three seasons. After this defeat, many questions were raised in Indian cricket, focusing on the performance of the team’s batsmen and bowlers. Virat Kohli scored only 190 runs in 5 matches, which was an average performance. Rohit Sharma’s performance was even worse, he scored just 31 runs in 3 matches.
One clear thing that came out in this defeat is that the players of the Indian team are proving to be weak in ‘red ball’ cricket. Factors such as carelessness in shot selection, constant mistakes, and lack of mental strength led to the defeat of the Indian team. Rishabh Pant was seen getting out playing risky shots repeatedly, and Virat Kohli seemed unable to play balls outside the off-stump. The situation was no better in the case of bowlers as well. Bowlers like Mohammad Siraj and Harshit Rana were seen losing their rhythm.
Some major weaknesses of the Indian team exposed
The defeat against Australia has exposed some major weaknesses of the Indian team, which the BCC and team management are now planning to focus on. The Indian team needs mental and technical improvement, especially for Test cricket. Apart from this, there is also a need to focus on the fitness level and mental strength of the players. The BCC has also made it clear that now Team India needs to change its strategy, so that their performance can be better in the upcoming Champions Trophy and other important tournaments. In the coming time, the Indian team will play T20 and ODI series against England, and after that will participate in the Champions Trophy in February. This series and tournament can prove to be important for Indian cricket, and the team can get time to improve its weaknesses.
