The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is allegedly considering adjustments to its family stay policy if players want to bring their families and close friends with them on tour for extended periods.
This move comes just days after Virat Kohli expressed his dissatisfaction with the policy, emphasizing the necessity of players spending time with their loved ones following high-intensity matches, particularly on international trips.
Following India's 1-3 Test series loss to Australia, the BCCI issued a regulation limiting family visits on tours of more than 45 days to a maximum of 14 days. For shorter tours, athletes could bring their families for up to a week.
Virat Kohli spoke out against family travel limits during a recent promotional event for IPL 2025.
"If you ask any player, do you want your family to be around you all the time? You'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," Kohli had said.
Now, as per the report, family members will be allowed to stay with players and support personnel for longer periods of time than the present rules enable, as long as participants gain prior board consent.
"Players can apply for permission if they want their families to stay longer on tours. The BCCI will decide as it sees fit," a top BCCI source told India Today.
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev supports family travel with cricketers on tours, but he also advocates for a balanced approach to dealing with the thorny topic that has divided opinion.
"I think that's a cricket board's call. Mine is, yes, you need a family, but yes, you need a team also all the time. In our time, we used to say to ourselves, Not by the cricket board, the first half, let me play cricket. In the second half, the families should come there and enjoy it too. It should be blended," Kapil said.
During the Champions Trophy campaign, Indian players' families joined them in the UAE. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma celebrated the historic victory with their families in Dubai on March 9.
(PTI inputs)
