Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has raised his voice against the BCCI’s decision to restrict players’ families from joining them in overseas tours.

Raina reckoned this move might have played a role in Virat Kohli's early retirement from Test cricket. The 36-year-old Kohli called time on his Test career in May, weeks before the start of the Test series between India and England.

Earlier this year, the BCCI made sweeping changes to Indian cricket team's player regulations in the wake of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 debacle.

Cracking the whip against the players, the Indian board implemented a stringent 10-point guidelines, including making participation in domestic tournaments mandatory and limiting travel of wives and girlfriends on overseas tours.

The regulation didn’t go down well with everyone, including Kohli, who had already expressed reservations regarding the same.

“It’s very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside. I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it’s like people who have no control over what’s going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, ‘oh, maybe they need to be kept away,” Kohli had said in March.

Now, Raina has highlighted the importance of having family around, especially during tough tours.

“You do have mental health issues. When you are going through a lean phase and there’s an army gunning for your spot, then such issues crop up. You fear being dropped. When chips are down you need someone to talk to. When you’re happy, you seldom need anyone. But when you’re down, you fear talking thinking this may end up reaching the coach or the captain. So out of hesitation, players don’t speak out,” Raina said while speaking to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia.

“It is very important to have family on tours. BCCI has taken a big decision that family is not allowed - I’m against this. You are sending them to a tour for two months…family should be allowed. It’s not that they (family) are against the players, they (also) would want us to score runs and the country to win. (Imagine) Virat Kohli playing, his daughter clapping - it’s such a proud moment. He will set the stage on fire,” he added.

Virat Kohli finished his Test career with 9230 runs from 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with the highest score of 254.

Having retired from T20Is last year, the Indian talisman will now focus solely on the One-Day International format.