Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar not on the same page on BCCI guidelines?

The Indian captain and chairman of selectors were not on the same page about existence of the 10-point BCCI guidelines – if the reaction of Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar at the media conference in Mumbai on Saturday is anything to go by. The Indian board has reportedly circulated it to the national team players earlier in the week and it will be with immediate effect from the white ball series at home against England.

The guidelines, which brings back the practice of pre-Covid days of putting a cap on family time on overseas tours, travelling together in the team bus, a bar on having personal staff like managers, chef etc have come in place after the BCCI review meeting in the wake of the team’s 3-1 series defeat in Australia.

When asked about it, Agarkar admitted about such a protocol being put in place while Rohit snapped at a reporter for asking the question.

 ‘’Who has told you about these rules? Has it come from the official handle? Let it come and we will talk,’’ Rohit said. Agarkar, on the contrary, said:  ‘’I think every team has some rules in place. We have spoken about various things. We have seen in the last few months the need for some changes, more bonding in the team.’’

‘’It’s not a school, it’s not a punishment. We have some rules and when you are playing for the national team, you follow the rules. These are not schoolkids. These are superstars. They know how to handle themselves,’’ he added.

‘’But at the end of the day, you play for your country. So you need to follow some rules,’’ said Agarkar, who was in Australia for the entire series – being privy to some of the senior players travelling with their families at the expense of team bonding. ‘’There were a lot of rules that were in place. You keep on refining it,’’ he added. 

It’s very unlikely that the BCCI will be sharing an essentially private document between them and their contracted players on their social media handle. This, in turn, raises the likelihood of selective leaks.

Captain-coach equation

There are several ticklish issues in place in the guidelines: including  the mandatory practice of all international players having to play domestic cricket if they are available and injury-free. The likes of Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul – named in Delhi and Karnataka squads, respectively, have pulled out of the upcoming fixtures due to injuries.

A few of them who are not a part of the upcoming T20I series against England like Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill are, however, available for the next round of Ranji matches.

When asked about media reports if there was any differences in terms of tactics between him and coach Gautam Gambhir, Rohit said: ‘’Both of us are very clear on what we wanted to do. I am not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind the scenes, every game tactically. But, it’s very clear in my mind."

He added: "Once we enter the field, he trusts what the captain is doing on the field. The basic talk that happens are only off the field. In the ground or may be in the changing room, once we take the field, it’s all about what I do on the field. That’s the kind of trust we have in each other. That’s how it should be.’’