Virat Kohli recently voiced his disappointment over the BCCI’s new family restriction rule, which limits the time players can spend with their families during tours. Speaking at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, Kohli emphasized the importance of family support, especially during high-pressure moments in a player’s career.
The rule, introduced after India’s 1-3 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, allows players’ families to join them only after the first two weeks of tours lasting over 45 days, with their stay capped at 14 days. On shorter tours, families are permitted to stay for up to a week.
Kohli highlighted how grounding it is to return to family after intense matches, stating, “It’s very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside.
Don’t want to sulk alone after match: Virat Kohli
“It’s very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something that is intense, which happens on the outside,” Kohli said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it’s like people who have no control over what’s going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, ‘oh, maybe they need to be kept away’,” Kohli said.
The veteran cricketer also stressed that having family around helps players manage their responsibilities better and maintain a sense of normalcy. “I don’t want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. And then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. You finish that responsibility, and you come back to life,” Kohli remarked
