During the review meeting with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Hyderabad earlier this month, India skipper, Virat Kohli put forward some of the requests ahead of the ICC World Cu 2019. Some of the requests suggested that the team expects a reserved train coach during the World Cup in England next year, permission for wives to accompany players for the entire tour.
As per the reports of the Indian Express, of all the requests the plea for bananas in the dressing room startled the CoA. Their sources said, “Apparently, the England cricket board failed to serve the Indian team with the fruit of their choice during the tour. But the CoA was amused by the request and said that the players should have told the team manager to buy bananas on the BCCI’s expenses. There were other demands about booking hotels with a proper gym and discussions about the duration and protocol regarding wives accompanying players on tours.”
India started the two-month England tour by winning the T20I series but went on to lose the ODI and Test series that followed. The review meeting, held during the Test series against West Indies and it was attended by Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, senior player Rohit Sharma, coach Ravi Shastri and chairman of selection committee MSK Prasad.
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The other demand that raised eyebrows in the CoA — from the security point of view — was the preference for train travel in England during next year’s World Cup.
This request follows a decision by the CoA that wives of players traveling to Australia for the tour starting next month will not be allowed to travel in the official team bus. Instead, the CoA said, the wives will be traveling in a private vehicle which will be arranged for them. This step has been taken by CoA as in past a few players have driven with their wives separately and the BCCI wants to stop that practice as it affects team bonding.
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For the World Cup in England, the players argued that rail travel saves time and is more comfortable. Speaking about the same, the Indian Express sources said, “The CoA was initially not willing to agree because it was worried about security. But it was informed by Kohli that the England team traveled by train… The team wants a coach to be blocked and booked. The CoA was worried about traveling Indian fans mobbing the train. Eventually, the committee agreed under the condition that the CoA or BCCI won’t be held responsible if anything untoward happens.”
The third key request triggered a long debate — about wives accompanying players. Kohli had earlier requested the BCCI to allow wives for the entire duration of tours so that the players can relax and take their minds off the game after matches. However, the CoA said that it would seek the written consent of all team members individually before taking a decision.
