Nanny, Security & Chef - Why BCCI Imposed Personal Staff Restrictions in Guidelines For Team India Players?

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday (January 16) announced a set of stringent guidelines for Team India cricketers after the humiliating Test series loss Down Under against Australia.

Some massive restrictions were imposed on the presence of families as well as personal staff on tours for the cricketers. The decisions regarding the personal staff of players was part of the 10-point policy introduced by the BCCI "to promote discipline and unity" in the team.

As per the new policy, the presence of personal staff, such as managers, chefs, assistants, and security personnel, is restricted on tours and series. Any exceptions require explicit approval from the BCCI. This measure aims to ensure team focus and minimize logistical complications.

"Restriction on Individual Staff on Tour/Series Personal staff (e.g., personal managers, chefs, assistants and security) are to be restricted on tours or series unless explicitly approved by the BCCI. This ensures that the focus remains on team operations and minimizes logistical challenges. - this has to be done away with," BCCI said in a statement.

Why the BCCI imposed restrictions on personal staff?

According to a report by Dainik Jagran, the restriction was brought to bring discipline to the side and the ban was imposed at the insistence of head coach Gautam Gambhir, who expressed his views in the recent review meeting.

The report further claimed that a wicketkeeper travels with his personal chef on tours, while a star batter has a larger group travelling due to the inclusion of personal security guards and a nanny for his kids.

"A BCCI source said that it is important to bring discipline into the side and coach Gautam Gambhir wants to finish the prevalent star culture," the report said before revealing the players who travel with their personal staff.

"It was learnt that a wicket-keeper travels with his personal chef while a star batter travels with a big staff including a nanny for his kids and security personnel. There are some players who also travel with their personal staff. The BCCI source said that such practices have a negative impact on the team," the report added.