Close on the heels of the Indian cricket team’s poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has laid out a 10-point policy targeted at fixing what looks, from the outside, a fractured dressing room environment. 

Since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach of the men’s team, India lost their first bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka in 27 years, were whitewashed 0-3 at home by New Zealand and then surrendered the BGT to Australia for the first time in a decade. Under Jasprit Bumrah, India took a 1-0 lead in the series by winning the Perth Test by 295 runs, but then failed to win a single of the next four games. 

During the fractious tour of Australia, Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket, skipper Rohit Sharma stood himself down from the final Test after averaging 6.20 in the series, and there were murmurs of discontent inside the dressing room as well as leaks as the tour ended. 

And now, after a review meeting held in Mumbai this week, the BCCI appears to have started to crack the whip on the Indian cricket team’s ‘star culture’ by putting together 10-point policy to promote ‘discipline and unity’, making domestic cricket mandatory, imposing restrictions on the presence of families and personal staff on tours and banning individual commercial endorsements during ongoing series. 

In this set of protocols, a copy of which is with DafaNews, the BCCI has also said that non-compliance of these measures would invite sanctions, including cuts in the players’ retainer fees from central contracts and a bar on participating in the Indian Premier League. It is also learnt that the restrictions were sought by head coach Gautam Gambhir in the review meeting of the team’s recent poor run this week. 

In short, here are the 10 points laid out by the BCCI: 

Number 1: Players must participate in domestic cricket.

Number 2: Players will not be permitted to travel separately, but instead as one unit in the team bus. 

Number 3: Players will have a limit on their baggage; no excess baggage beyond 150 kg or five pieces of luggage.

Number 4: There will be a restriction on individual staff on tour. No personal manager, no chef, no personal security, etc. 

Number 5: Players must coordinate with team for equipment being sent to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. 

Number 6: No players will be allowed to leave practice sessions early.

Number 7: No personal shoots or endorsement during an ongoing tour or series.

Number 8: Players’ families will only be allowed to stay for two weeks, in the case of a tour exceeding 45 days.

Number 9: Players are required to be available for BCCI’s official photo shoots and events.

Number 10: Players will not be allowed to return home early after if any matches end early. 

The 10-point diktat also makes it mandatory for players to seek Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar’s approval for any relaxation, including the duration of stay for their families on tour.

On immediate reviewing of these measures, the mind was flooded with questions. How did the Indian team management and the BCCI administration allow matters to get to out of hand? Is this acceptance by the board that such indiscretions were happening for long? 

Are the rules merely a knee-jerk reaction to what happened in Australia and at home against New Zealand? Would this 10-step policy have been put out had India won the BGT? Why is such news being made public instead of instructed to the players in private? 

Are these rules fair? Will enforcing these rules help India get back to winning ways? Will this stop the apparent VIP culture that we are led to believe has become prevalent inside the Indian camp? Is this the BCCI’s way of telling their stars players enough is enough? 

And what has changed in the six months since Rahul Dravid exited as head coach after India won the T20 World Cup, to now? 

There are no ready answers, and we cannot expect the BCCI or team management to say anything. Is it tough to shake the impression that this is an eyewash from the BCCI after an embarrassing four months, in which India suffered their first 0-3 Test series loss at home ever and then handed over the BGT to Australia. Six months ago, when Rohit’s team lifted the T20 World Cup, all seemed healthier inside the corridors of Indian cricket. If a superstar culture was prevalent, then it was probably swept under the carpet by the team’s success in the first half of 2024. 

But still, how the team management and BCCI allowed matters to get this far does raise eyebrows. If reports are to believe, even Gambhir’s personal assistant on the tour of Australia had VIP access. So, is the head coach not part of the superstar culture? 

And now that Gambhir has reportedly been given more power in his capacity of head coach, what will happen if India fails to win the Champions Trophy in March? Will the target then just be superstar cricketers and their failures on the pitch? Or will it signal the end of Gambhir as coach? 

This is a team in transition, no doubt, and the terrain is rockier now that consecutive Test series have been lost and players like Rohit and Kohli have struggled with the bat. After the Champions Trophy comes the IPL before India fly to England for five Test matches to start a new World Test Championship cycle. Following the BCCI’s 10-point diktat, on the outside level aimed at ensuring operational efficiency and fostering unity, one can only wonder what the next six months will throw up. Buckle up.