27 bags, 17 bats: Team India star cricketer made BCCI pay for 250 kg luggage during Australia tour, says report

With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unrolled the new set of rules, including a cap on the weight of luggage the players can carry for overseas assignments, a new piece of information has surfaced from India’s tour of Australia.

According to a report by Dainik Jagran, the Team India star player made the BCCI pay for more than 27 bags during the tour Down Under. Not only the bags belonged to the player, but also to his family members and personal staff. The weight of the bags went above 250kg, for which the board had to pay, the report added.

Among other details, the bags consisted of a total of 17 bats, as well as other items belonging to the members of the player’s family and personal staff.

The BCCI policy clearly states that the luggage belonging to a player’s family and personal staff is supposed to be carried separately. However, the player got the BCCI to manage all that as part of his luggage.

Apart from this, the report claimed that during the entire course of the tour, the family members of the player under the spotlight were with him. The BCCI had to bear the cost of getting the player’s and his family members’ stuff from India to Australia and vice-versa. Though the exact figure is not known, it is expected the amount to be in lakhs.

BCCI’s reaction to this:

Acting on these bad influences, the BCCI put certain rules in place since the Australia tour.

As per the new rule, the BCCI has clarified that it would only bear the cost of luggage up to 150 kg per player.

Also, the players are now required to travel through the team bus for matches and no player is being given permission to make personal arrangements when it comes to team travel.

With Team India preparing to fly to Dubai for the ICC Champions Trophy, the BCCI has also issued a strict diktat. The BCCI has made family members of the players ineligible to accompany them on the tour, reported PTI, adding the rules remain the same for everyone.