'Don't want to sulk': Virat Kohli calls for change in BCCI’s stance on family presence during tours

His comments come after the BCCI introduced directives restricting players' family time on tours following India's 3-1 drubbing to Australia

Star India batter Virat Kohli has batted for the presence of families on Team India's tours, saying that having them around brings a balance and normalcy, especially when players face tough times, reported ESPNCricinfo.

Kohli's comments come after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced directives restricting players' family time on tours following India's 3-1 drubbing to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy away from home. It ruled that player's immediate families, their partners and children, can only join them for 14 days after first two weeks of a tour of over 45 days. On shorter tours, players can be accompanied by their families for up to a week.

Speaking at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Kohli said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "It is very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something intense, which happens on the outside."

"I do not think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it is like people who have no control over what is going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, 'oh, maybe they need to be kept away'," he added.

Kohli said that no player would like to 'sit alone and sulk" after a poor showing during a tour.

"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," he said.

"Like, there could be different situations happening in your life all the time. And that allows you to be absolutely normal. Not in a vague sense, but in a very real way that you finish your commitment, your responsibility, and then you come back to your house, you are with family, and there's absolutely normalcy in your house and normal family life goes on. So, for me, that is absolutely a day of immense pleasure. And I would not miss any opportunities to go out and spend time with my family whenever I can," he concluded.

Notably, Kohli was the part of India's ICC Champions Trophy winning team recently, emerging as the team's second-highest run-getter and overall fifth, with 218 runs in five matches at an average of 54.50. His standout knocks included a 100 (unbeaten) against arch-rivals Pakistan while chasing 242 and a 98-ball 84 against Australia in the semifinals during a tough run-chase of 265 runs.

He will be a part of RCB's IPL 2025 season, starting with the tournament opener against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Not only would a maiden IPL title be on his target, but also plenty of batting records. He is the highest run-getter in tournament history, with 8,004 runs in 252 matches at an average of 38.66 and a strike rate of 131.97, with eight centuries and 55 fifties.

Last year, he finished the season with an Orange Cap for most runs, with 741 runs at an average of 61.75, with an impressive strike rate of 154.69. He scored a century and five fifties and hit 38 astonishing sixes. His team qualified for playoffs last season after a horror first half where they won just one match out of eight, following it with a remarkable and inspirational turnaround by registering six wins on trot to make it to the final four.

(With agency inputs)

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