No personal vehicles for India players as CAB enforces BCCI's new policy

The BCCI's ten-point policy document for the senior men's team has been sent to the various state associations that will be hosting India-England games in the coming weeks, according to a PTI report. India host England for five T20Is, followed by three ODIs, starting with the first T20I at Eden Gardens on January 22.

Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly confirmed that his association made arrangements for the Indian team in accordance with the policy document on Sunday, the first day of training at Eden Gardens.

"In keeping with the BCCI's 10-point guidelines for players, the Cricket Association of Bengal has not arranged any separate means of conveyance [for individual players]," Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI. "Only a team bus has been arranged for the Indian team. There won't be any personal vehicles for the cricketers.

"We have to follow the guidelines, which clearly state that all players are expected to travel with the team to and from matches and practice sessions."

The entire squad travelling to and from training and matches together on the team bus was one of the points put forward by the BCCI this past week, after a review meeting to go over India's recent poor run in Test cricket. Among those present at the meeting were head coach Gautam Gambhir, the Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

The policy document said that going forward, a player will need a "pre-approved" nod from the head coach or head selector to travel separately from the rest of the squad to training or games, and all players would have to wait for the entire training session or game to be over before they left the ground. "This rule ensures commitment and fosters a strong work ethic within the team," the document said.

Another point was around participation in domestic cricket being mandatory for players. Rohit had spoken about this at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday, when the team for the Champions Trophy was being announced. At the same press conference, Agarkar had said the new policies were not a "diktat" or "punishment", but "you have some rules in place and when you're playing for the national team you just follow those rules".