The review meeting for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held at the BCCI headquarters on January 11 yielded many results, at least as per what reports claimed. From deciding to stick with Rohit Sharma as the captain to proposing new travel restrictions for Team India, several key decisions were deliberated upon in the meeting attended by the captain, coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and members of the board. While there is no official confirmation on what were the exact topics that were discussed, here’s what we know as to what went down in the discussion so far.
BCCI’s BGT review meeting highlights
1. Rohit Sharma to continue as captain
One of the key conclusions that was derived from the meeting was to allow Rohit to continue as the skipper. Calls to axe the Hitman, both as batter and skipper, gained momentum following the series loss to New Zealand and Australia. However, the BCCI decided to take no knee-jerk reactions and instead reportedly decided to allow Sharma to carry on his responsibility as captain. Reports also claimed that the Hitman had asked the board to find a suitable replacement for him as captain and that he would remain in the position for the time being.
2. Yo-yo tests to return as fitness comes under scanner again
The board has reportedly decided to draw attention towards fitness once again following the debacle in Australia and India’s failure to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The yo-yo test, which was introduced during Virat Kohli’s reign as captain, is reportedly set to be reintroduced in order to streamline the inclusion of players in the side based on their fitness. The yo-yo test was scrapped when Dravid took over the reins, owing to workload management and injury crisis. However, the BCCI is mulling to bring back the strict rule once again, given Gambhir’s struggles and the underperformance of the team in the recent months.
3. IPL > Tests a big problem!
The review meeting saw the stakeholders discuss the importance shown towards Test cricket by players. One of the points that was reportedly raised was that if some of the players were indifferent to India’s losses in Tests. A report claimed that while the team management understood the value of Tests, many players did not. Additionally, the board is reportedly upset with players for showing lack of interest in the longer format of the game while being content with grabbing lucrative IPL deals.
4. Performance-based variable pay
The BCCI is set to do away with the incentives that it had offered in 2024 for those prioritizing Test cricket. Instead, the board is now mulling introducing a performance-based variable pay system for the players in order to make them more accountable. The proposal states that players will face pay cuts should they failed to deliver on their expectations, akin to how “corporate houses appraise their employees annually.”
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5. Restrictions on kin and personal travel
After the exhausting Border–Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia, the BCCI has decided to implement stricter rules when it comes to the wives and family members of cricketers accompanying them on tours. Reports state that as per the new rules, the family of a cricketer would only be allowed to stay for 14 days if a tour lasts for 45 days and 7 days for a shorter tour. The decision is based on the fact that the board believes that the presence of family members impacts the player’s performances negatively. Additionally, reports state that players are not allowed to travel with their personal staff including hairstylist, cook , personal security guard on tours.
Another key rule that is set to be introduced is the ban on separate travel for players in order to create team unity. While reports claimed that this decision stemmed from Yashasvi Jaiswal’s incident in Adelaide, there has been no official confirmation as to what the reason was. Nevertheless, the new rule states that all players must travel in the team bus with separate travel being completely banned.
6. Fixing dressing room chatter leaks
Another pressing issue that came to light during the review meeting was that of dressing room talks being leaked to the media. Reports claimed that head coach Gambhir had accused Sarfaraz Khan of leaking the talks to the media. The above mentioned incident took place after the IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test when a fired up Gambhir gave an ultimatum to the Indian cricketers following their dismal performance at the MCG. At the time of the leak, many former cricketers had objected to matters of the team being leaked outside.
7. Gambhir’s support staff under the scanner
Gautam Gambhir’s support staff have come under the radar of the BCCI following the team’s performance over the last couple of series, particularly in Australia. Firstly, the BCCI was informed that bowling coach Morne Morkel was reprimanded publicly by Gambhir for being late to a training session, which resulted in the Proteas star being a bit reserved for the rest of the tour. Next, assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are under the scanner of the board for underperforming so far. Reports suggested that the board had apprehensions with Nayar as to what he was bringing to the table, while taking feedback from senior players. Doeschate is under fire as the board believes that he lacks international experience and questions his ability to contribute to enhancing an international cricketer’s performance.
8. New batting coach
The failure of the Indian batters in Australia has forced the BCCI to mull the possibility of adding a batting coach to the support staff. A TOI report suggested that Sitanshu Kotak is being considered for the role while other reports claimed that there were several domestic heavyweights who were in the fray.