Rohit and Agarkar differ in views on BCCI’s SOPs for national players

Rohit and Agarkar during the press conference in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Captain Rohit Sharma and selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar had contradictory reactions to the recent circulation of modified standard operating procedures (SOPs) for India cricketers that have surfaced in the aftermath of India’s disappointing season of Test cricket.

In a two-page document shared with cricketers last week, accessed by The Hindu, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had put out various curbs, including restricted stay of players’ families on long tours and disallowing personal staff of players along with the squad.

While Rohit snapped at a journalist when asked about the new policy, Agarkar explained the rationale behind it.

“Who told you about these rules? Has it come from the official handle of (the) BCCI? Did it come officially?” Rohit asked.

The 10-point document states that non-adherence of the new rules may lead to sanctions, including ban from competing in the Indian Premier League. However, Agarkar stressed the rules are primarily aimed at maintaining team unity.

“Every team has some rules in place. We have spoken about various things over the last few months, where we can improve as a team and get a bit closer as a team. 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. It’s just you have some rules and when you are playing for the national team, you just follow the rules. These are mature individuals. They are superstars in their own right in international sport. They know how to handle themselves,” Agarkar said.

“But at the end of the day, you are eventually representing your country and there are certain things that you inherently follow as every team does. A lot of them have been in place, maybe we have spoken about it now and it has been put out but a lot of them have been in place in any case. You keep on refining it as you go along, eventually what suits the team, you want to try and do that.”