Army-type discipline rules from BCCI for ‘ruffians’ in senior men’s team!

That the Boad of Control for Cricket in India had to come out with a policy document (senior men) on Thursday to establish guidelines, promote discipline, unity and a positive team environment is shameful and shocking. It is a tacit admission, there was a total collapse during the Border Gavaskar Trophy series Down Under. Nobody has come out smelling like roses and this proves coach Gautam Gambhir has done a poor job. He and his coaching entourage, now growing, needs to watch out more than the senior players.

The guidelines have been framed by the BCCI after muck flew all around. News leaks, players being criticised, a coach not in command and himself carrying a manager to Australia, all this has caused grief to the BCCI. Bottom line, if Army-type discipline has to be ensured now, then the coach has failed. How come nothing like this was needed when Gambhir’s successors were around – Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid. If there has been indiscipline in Australia, players went in different directions and there were no team dinners, Gambhir is at fault. In the old days, the role of a manager with the team was important. That does not seem to be the case now.

Wives are banned for travelling for the entire duration of a long tour as per the new rules. Does this mean Sanajana Ganesan was a bad influence on Jasprit Bumrah, when he broke his back to take 32 wickets in the BGT Series. If the BCCI can answer this, it would be nice. Wives don’t go to party or disturb a cricketer. You can have guidelines, but to banish wives is nonsense. Players cannot be left in isolation, and from a mental health perspective, wives travelling is beneficial. Who are the players who have been targeted is well-known. Can the BCCI stop Anushka Sharma, Ritika Sajdeh and a few more from travelling to Dubai for the Champions Trophy next month? No way, they can still go as tourists and stay alone.

If there was no team bonding in Australia, no team dinners and hanging out together, it’s not possible. Players need a break-out time, they cannot be like in a classroom together all the time. Discipline is ingrained but to force discipline where the players will be watched is unacceptable. A younger player like Sarfaraz Khan has been targeted by Gambhir and blamed for leaking news from the dressing room. Would it not have made sense to seek the boy out and have a chat. That way, Gambhir would have built a better rapport. Instead, he called Sarfaraz as ‘overweight!”

No managers and PR guys on tours is the new diktat from the BCCI. Gambhir himself is guilty of having used a PR team. Someone as his manager was seen in Australia all the time. What he was doing, nobody knows. Surely, it could have been a case for even the ACU (anti-corruption unit) since he was not there in any official capacity. If Gambhir himself is guilty, the rules should apply to him also.

PR machinery, social media machinery can never be stopped. They don’t have to travel to Australia for it or any other country. Not being allowed to shoot commercials, no hair stylists, no personal butlers, all this is crazy. If a star cricketer like Hardik Pandya wants to eat his own food, cooked by his chef, why stop it. Its better he eats what suits him rather than be unhappy. Food is a personal choice after all.

There is a damning bit about players being punished if they do not perform best and focus on IPL. Any player chosen to represent India in Test cricket does it as duty and honour. To blame the IPL is a no brainer. What can the BCCI do by taking such an aggressive stance, where, if players do not do well in Tests, you cut salaries and ban them from IPL. Is this even rational, or the BCCI has come up with rules and regulations which are more mindless than what a Larsen and Toubro corporate honcho suggested.

At the end of the day, chairman of selection committee Ajit Agarkar was also travelling with the team in Australia. Will these guidelines coming into play improve performance? Will Virat Kohli not fish outside the off stump? Will Rohit Sharma return to form and will Bumrah be fit? Points to ponder for the BCCI as well. Indiscipline cannot be tolerated but don’t make it out as if Team Indian is a bunch of ruffians.