"It means some rules had been changed and would have especially been changed for some individuals" - Aakash Chopra on BCCI's reported travel guideline

Former player Aakash Chopra has questioned why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly had to issue a travel guideline for Team India. He opined that it implies that the rules were being bent and potentially for specific players.

India suffered a 1-3 defeat to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. Reports suggest the BCCI has given a few guidelines to the Indian team after the disastrous series, including asking all players to travel together in the team bus.

Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener noted that the reported guidelines imply the rules were changed for some players.

"The first report, which I liked, was that all players will travel in the team bus, and I am thinking this has been happening forever. The team bus has been named team bus because of that only, as the entire team will travel in it. At least until we were playing cricket, the team used to travel only in the team bus," he said (1:50).

"It's a very normal thing. It's par for the course. It has to happen like that. It's like telling someone that you would get breakfast and not lunch in the morning. However, if this has been said, it means some rules had been changed and would have especially been changed for some individuals," Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that he doesn't know for which players the rules were changed. However, he added that it's unacceptable if the team doesn't mandatorily travel in the team bus.

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"It wouldn't have happened without the coach's approval" - Aakash Chopra

The BCCI has also reportedly imposed certain restrictions on Gautam Gambhir's manager. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that players wouldn't have been allowed to travel separately without the coach's approval.

"Whoever did that has made a slight joke with Indian cricket and did a huge disservice because how can you treat people differently, or else you didn't treat them differently but gave the entire team the allowance to come in 15 separate vehicles. It wouldn't have happened without the coach's approval," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that such deeds can adversely impact the team culture.

"So somewhere or the other the coach or the team management allowed it to happen, that it's okay whichever way you travel and then we can meet at the ground. That is just plain wrong. There cannot be a worse deed than that to spoil the culture where you allow someone to reach however and whenever," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that he would be glad if such behavior is stopped. He added that whoever allowed it, should be asked why and for whom he did it.