Mumbai, Jan 18: It’s not a “punishment”, said chief selector Ajit Agarkar but India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday expressed his and his teammates’ reservations towards the recent BCCI policy that placed restrictions on the time that players would get with their families while on tour.
The BCCI has not officially announced the guidelines but media has already reported on the 10-point diktat.
One of the major contentions in policy document is going back to the old days where families are allowed only for 14 days on long tours. Any deviation would need coach Gambhir’s approval. It is understood that this point has not gone down well in the team’s rank and file.
As Rohit sat beside chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar before the start of the press conference, he was heard telling his former Mumbai teammate: “Ab mere ko baithna padega secretary ke saath. Family, wamily ka discuss karne ke liye, sab mere ko bol rahe hai yaar (I have to sit down with the secretary to discuss about family (travel guidelines). Everyone (players) is asking me.”
Rohit’s comment wasn’t meant for the media but it was caught on the microphone and it was not difficult to read between the lines.
When Rohit asked about the guidelines, he retorted, “Who told you about these rules? Has it come from the official handle of the BCCI? Let it come officially.”
However when Agarkar spoke, he indeed admitted that an SOP has been drafted. Agarkar was asked what exactly went wrong that within six months of winning the T20 World Cup with same set of players, BCCI needed a travel policy document? Agarkar, who was also a part of that review committee meeting that discussed the Australia debacle, said, “We’ll probably talk about it endlessly if we keep going on.”
“I suppose every team has some rules in place. We’ve spoken about various things you see over the last few months where you can improve as a team, where you can get a bit closer as a team. It’s not a school. It’s not a punishment,” he said, trying to rationalise.
“It’s just (that) you have some rules in place and when you’re playing for the national team you just follow those rules. Again, these are mature individuals. They are superstars in their own rights in international sport.”
Many former players have termed these rules as something that was always in place and Agarkar called them protocols that one has to follow while representing the national team.
“But at the end of the day you’re eventually representing your country. There are certain things that you just inherently follow as every team does. I think a lot of them (rules) have been in place.
“Maybe we’ve spoken about it now and it’s been put out, but a lot of them have been in place in any case. You keep on refining it as you go along eventually what suits the team, you want to try and do.”
There have been conjectures about Rohit’s working relationship with the head coach and the skipper said that once he enters the playing arena, he is his own man.
“Both (he and Gambhir) of us are very clear in what we want to do. I’m not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind every game tactically but it’s very clear in my mind. (PTI)
