Team India Wants Wives On Tour, Rail Coach, Gym, Bananas For 2019 World Cup

Virat Kohli's Team India has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allow wives and girlfriends to travel with them for the entire duration of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup that will be held in the United Kingdom next year from May 30 to July 15, reported the Indian Express. The Indian cricket team had recently got permission to bring their wives and girlfriends with them on overseas tours, provided they join the squad 10 days after the series commences. 

According to the report, the team has also asked to travel between venues by train rather than bus, so that their wives can accompany them. The players have asked for bananas to be made available for them to eat during the tour, according to the report.

The requests were made after India's recent tour of the United Kingdom.

"Apparently, the England cricket board failed to serve the Indian team the fruit of their choice during the tour," the report quoted an unnamed official as saying. 

"But the CoA (BCCI's Committee of Administrators) was amused by the request and said that the players should have told the team manager to buy bananas on the BCCI's expenses.

"There were other demands about booking hotels with a proper gym and discussions about the duration and protocol regarding wives accompanying players on tours," the official added.

The report said the CoA was unsure about the request to allow the team to travel by train since it would present security concerns. The request was made after the CoA had earlier ruled that wives of players will not be allowed to travel on the team's bus, the report said.

As for allowing wives to travel for the whole duration of a tour, the source said, "It was felt that some players might view this as a distraction during tours. They (CoA) want to make sure that everyone is on board before they give the green light."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Virat Kohli Cricket World Cup 2019