Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has advocated BCCI’s decision to limit the presence of family in India’s tour. This decision was taken after India fared poorly in both New Zealand series at home and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Both the defeats have left huge tension over BCCI’s head following which strict guidelines were made.

This Issue Should’ve Been Raised When India Was Winning

“It’s almost surprising that these issues are being raised only after India lost to New Zealand and Australia. I wish these matters were addressed when India was winning. These setbacks should not be required to highlight issues that go against the team’s culture,” Manjrekar mentioned on ESPNCricinfo

What Are The Factors Contributing To India’s Loss?

“These are some of the smaller factors contributing to what we saw at home against New Zealand and Australia. This should be the basic standard. In our time, we shared rooms. Families would only join during the last two weeks of a tour,” he added.

Cricketers Behaving Like Bollywood Stars

“The culture that has emerged in Indian cricket seems to resemble the dynamics of mainstream Bollywood. I hope that, moving forward, cricket remains what it truly is – a sport,” he continued.

“I’ve always felt that for shorter tours, it’s better not to have families around. The argument that players travel a lot and play so much cricket, which has been made in the past, seems a bit unfair now. Players have the opportunity to take regular breaks to spend time with their families,” Manjrekar stated.

“I’m a strong advocate for players being independent. It’s a high-pressure role with a lot of stress, and I don’t think bringing family along helps the team culture or the overall environment,” he concluded.

There was document, accessed by ESPNcricinfo which is titled “Policy Document For Team India” was sent to the players last week. The document has been prepared by BCCI after the review meeting concluded. The main reason for the meeting was India’s poor performance first against New Zealand and then Australia. It lays down strict rules and limits the presence of families.