India captain Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the men’s selection committee, named India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy during a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday. However, before the start of the press conference, Rohit was seen having a discussion a private chat with Agarkar, which has now gone viral on social media. It seems that Rohit was unaware that the camera was already rolling. In the viral video, Rohit was heard speaking to chief selector Ajit Agarkar about the new guidelines.
He told Agarkar that he will soon meet with the BCCI secretary to discuss the guidelines, revealing that a lot of players have contacted him over the same.
“Ab mere ko baithna padega secretary ke saath. Family, wamily ka discuss karne ke liye, sab mere ko bol rahe hai yaar (Now, I would’ve have to sit for an hour and a half with the BCCI secretary to discuss about the families. Everyone is asking me),” Rohit can be heard as saying to Agarkar in a viral video.
Rohit Sharma to Agarkar “Ab mere ko baithna padega secretary ke saath family ka discuss karne ke liye, sab mere ko bol rahe hai”.
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) January 18, 2025
Recently, a 10-point guidline was released following India’s series defeat to Australia earlier this month.
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.
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.
(With PTI Inputs)
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