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Recently, star Indian batter and former skipper Virat Kohli strongly responded on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s recent diktat that restricted families of the players to travel with them during international tours. This came after India received a 1-3 drubbing against Australia in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
For the unversed, the BCCI issued a 10-point diktat which included restriction on families to stay with the cricketers. Furthermore, BCCI mandated that families can only stay with players for two weeks in a tour that is longer that 45 days. It came into implementation during the Champions Trophy 2025, where none of their family members accompanied the team.
It should be a blend: Kapil Dev backs Virat Kohli’s stance on BCCI’s family diktat
Earlier this month, Virat Kohli while speaking on RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit said, “It is very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to come back to your family every time you have something intense happening on the outside.” “I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings. I feel quite disappointed about that. People who have no control over what is going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out in the forefront. Maybe they need to be kept away," he added.
After these comments from the 36-year-old, India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev also opened up and spoke of the importance of family on tours. "Well, I don't know, that's individual. I think it's the cricket board's call. My view is, yes, you need family.”
Speaking on the sidelines of 'Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational' event, he added, “But you also need a team, all the time. In our time, we used to say to ourselves, not by the cricket board, that the first half of the tour should be cricket, and in the second half, the family should come and enjoy it too. It should be a blend.”
