Kohli felt that the decision makers have chosen a wrong area to improve players' focus
Virat Kohli felt that players need the presence of their families when they are playing as it helps them cope with the pressures of playing international cricket.
Following the 1-3 debacle in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the BCCI had mandated that the families of the players can accompany them for not more than 14 days on tours which are 45 days or more. For shorter tours, families can stay with players for a week.
Kohli felt that every player would like to come to his family after a tough day’s work rather than sit alone in their hotel room.
“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,” Kohli said at RCB Innovational Lab Indian Sports Summit in Bengaluru.
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Kohli felt that the decision-makers in the BCCI have ignored the positive influence of families.
“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,’” he added.
Kohli reiterated that he will never miss a chance to spend time with his family no matter what.
“I won’t miss any opportunities to go out and spend time with my family whenever I can,” Kohli said.
India are set to embark on a long tour from June to August for a five-match Test series against England. Notably, the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai marked their first overseas journey since the BCCI mandate was implemented.
Many of the players’ families were present during the final at the Dubai International Stadium and were part of the trophy celebrations after India beat New Zealand in the final.
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