India skipper Virat Kohli has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reconsider its rule on wives of the players and allow them to accompany the team for the full duration of overseas tours, The Indian Express reported. The current policy allows the wives of players and support staff to accompany them for just two weeks while players are touring overseas, IE reported.
Despite the rule, Kohli’s wife and actor Anushka Sharma were seen travelling with the team throughout their tour in England last month, India Today reported.
According to IE, Kohli had first raised the issue with a BCCI official in the top rung a couple of weeks back. The request was then conveyed it to the Supreme Court -appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, the Express report added.
Reportedly, CoA has also asked Indian cricket team’s manager Sunil Subramaniam to make a formal request to change the rule.
The request was made a few weeks back but as it is a BCCI policy decision, the manager will have to submit a formal request first. Anushka has been travelling with Kohli overseas, however, Kohli now wants the old rule to be abolished and a new policy should come up where wives should be allowed to travel with the Indian team.A source to The Indian Express
No Immediate Action on Kohli’s Request: CoA
Reacting to the skipper’s request, sources in CoA told ANI that the committee is not going to take any immediate decision.
"Yes he (Virat) had requested, but we are not going to take any decision soon. We have said that we will leave it to the new office bearers. The policy will not change now," ANI tweeted CoA sources as quoting.
Team India are presently engaged in a home series against West Indies and their next overseas assignment will be a Test series against Australia in November.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, ANI and India Today)