BCCI has told that the disciplinary guidelines for players are non-negotiable
The Indian team’s journey to Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025 will be the beginning of a fresh chapter in terms of the dressing room culture as multiple mandates of the BCCI will be enforced on the tour.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, members of the Rohit Sharma-led squad have been handed over SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) for the upcoming event and have been told that the guidelines, specifically the disciplinary ones, are non-negotiable.
The SOPs are mostly focused on travel, practice sessions, luggage allowances, and player entourages. Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) secretary R Devraj, who will be the team’s manager for the tournament, has been instructed to ensure compliance.
The most important SOP is the presence of players’ personal staff during the tour.
“Personal staff (e.g., personal managers, chefs, assistants and security) are to be restricted on tours or series unless explicitly approved by the BCCI. This ensures that the focus remains on team operations and minimizes logistical challenges. – this has to be done away with,” it states.
Previously, players had preferred having personal chefs to cook food on tours according to the diet prescribed by their nutritionists, BCCI has now offered to send two personal chefs for the entire team on tours. With the Champions Trophy being the first tournament for that to be implemented, it will be interesting to see two chefs will be able to prepare meals for players with different diet charts.
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The families of players will not be accompanying them for the Champions Trophy, as the tournament will begin on February 19 and end on March 9. Along with pre-tournament preparations which are likely to begin from February 15, the tour might take four weeks. The new rules state that players can be joined by their immediate family members (spouse and children under 18) for one visit per series (format-wise) of up to a two-week period.
The BCCI had mandated that all members of the team must travel to and from training sessions in the team bus, which has been implemented during the T20I and ODI series against England at home.
Another important rule is, “Players are not permitted to engage in personal shoots or endorsements during an ongoing series or tour. This avoids distractions and ensures that the players’ focus remains on cricket and team responsibilities.”
The mandate for all to play domestic cricket to be eligible for central contracts and national team selection has already been implemented with many star players appearing for their domestic sides in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
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