Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma returned to practice following his disastrous run of form during the Test series against Australia. Rohit started his practice with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and in a video going viral on social media, he was seen practicing with teammate Hardik Pandya in the Mumbai Indians nets. India are all set to play England in ODI and T20I series before travelling for the Champions Trophy 2025. While Hardik will travel to Kolkata for a 3-day training camp ahead of the T20I series, Rohit is expected to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
In the video, Rohit was seen playing some confident shots while batting while Hardik had the ball in his hand and was bowling in the nets.
Meanwhile, racking the whip on the Indian cricket team’s “star culture”, the BCCI on Thursday unveiled a 10-point policy to promote “discipline and unity”, making domestic cricket mandatory, imposing restriction on the presence of families and personal staff on tours and banning individual commercial endorsements during ongoing series.
Rohit Sharma & Hardik Pandya Practicing together ahead of Champions Trophy
Reliance Corporate Park Navi Mumbai pic.twitter.com/QS6hm5kiEJ
— रॉयल चॅलेंजर्स बंगळुरू मराठी (@RCB_Marathi) January 16, 2025
It is learnt that the restrictions were sought by head coach Gautam Gambhir in a review meeting of the team’s recent poor run.
Non-compliance would invite sanctions, including cuts in the players’ retainer fee from central contracts and a bar on participating in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.
The measures have been announced in the wake of the team’s disastrous tour of Australia during which it surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. The debacle was preceded by a series whitewash against a relatively under-strength New Zealand at home.
The 10 diktats make it mandatory for players to seek Gambhir and chairman of selectors’ Ajit Agarkar‘s approval for any relaxation, including the duration of stay for their families on tour.
The Board has approved only a two-week window for families to stay with the players during overseas tours that exceed 45 days, besides imposing restrictions on personal staff, and commercial shoots.
By the look of things, the BCCI seems to have completely backed Gambhir’s stance during the review meeting that took place last weekend.
Terming the measures as a way of “ensuring professional standards and operational efficiency during tours and series”, the policy, which is in possession of PTI, could prove to be a landmark document.
Topics mentioned in this article
