Ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued some new guidelines for Team India. These include mandatory participation in domestic cricket, ban on advertisements during the series, limits on travel with players' personal staff and family, and rules related to baggage allowance.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar gave his opinion on these new rules. During the Champions Trophy 2025 team announcement held in Mumbai, he described these changes as necessary and said that this will strengthen the team further.
Agarkar supports new rules
During the interaction with the media, Ajit Agarkar said, "Every team has some rules. In the last few months, we felt that some changes were needed to bring more cohesion within the team. This is not a school and there is no punishment being given. When you play for the country, there are certain rules which need to be followed. ”
Agarkar also clarified that these rules have not been imposed on anyone, but the BCCI has implemented them for better team management. "These players are not school kids, these are superstars. They know very well how to handle themselves. But when you play for your country, there are certain rules that need to be followed. This is not a hard order, but part of a process. ”
New rules come into effect after Australia tour
The BCCI implemented these new rules when the Indian team suffered a 1-3 defeat on the tour of Australia. In the five-match Test series, the team captained by Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling. The board then announced these changes to enhance the discipline and commitment of the players.
The new guidelines will come into effect from India's next international series, which will be home ODI and T20 series against England from January 22. After this, Team India will leave for Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025 starting on February 19, where they will play their first match against Bangladesh on February 20.
Team India's Official Champions Trophy 2025 Squad
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill
Other players: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja
Now it will be a matter of seeing how much these new rules affect the performance of the Indian team and whether Team India will be able to make a strong comeback with these changes in the Champions Trophy.