India head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed the BCCI’s directive to limit the presence of cricketers’ families during long overseas tours, saying players must realise they are not on vacation but on national duty.
The BCCI introduced a revised travel policy after the Indian team’s 1-3 defeat in Australia at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, capping family members’ stay to two weeks maximum for tours longer than 45 days. For shorter tours, the duration was restricted to seven days.
“Families’ roles are important, but you’ve got to understand one thing. You are here for a purpose. It’s not a holiday. You’re here for a huge purpose. You’ve got very few people in that dressing room or in this tour who get this opportunity to make the country proud,” Gambhir said.
“So yes, I’m not against not having families with us,” said Gambhir during a conversation with Cheteshwar Pujara on Sony Sports Network.
Star batter Virat Kohli had earlier spoken in favour of having families accompany players, saying personal support helps during high-pressure situations.
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Gambhir, however, stressed the importance of putting country before everything else.
“It is important to have families, but if your focus is towards making our country proud and you have a much bigger role than any other thing, and you’re committed to that goal, you’re committed to that cause, I think everything else is fine. But for me, I think that cause and that goal are far more important than any other thing,” he said.
On the sidelines of the third Test against England at Lord’s, Gambhir also admitted he finds it difficult to disconnect from the game, revealing he was thinking about team combinations minutes after India’s comeback win over England in the second Test at Birmingham.
“That’s a tough question. I still haven’t understood how do I switch off because I never switch off and sometimes it’s very funny and it’s very weird,” he said when asked how he unwinds.
“Honestly, when we won the last test match, the first thing that came to my mind was what is going to be the combination for the next Test? And when I went back to my room, I was thinking, how does that work? We’ve just won a Test match. The guys have worked hard to make a comeback after losing the first one, and I have already started thinking about what’s going to be the combination and how we can win the next one. But I still haven’t figured out, honestly, to switch off,” Gambhir said.
India is currently playing the third Test against England at Lord’s, with the five-match series locked at 1-1.
