"It's not a school" - Chairman of selectors opens up on new guidelines issued by the BCCI on team bonding ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy

Team India men's team's selection chief Ajit Agarkar opened up on the BCCI reportedly issuing strict guidelines for players following their recent underperformances in the international arena. The former Indian fast bowler acknowledged that it's not a school but players need to abide by certain guidelines when playing for the national team.

The Indian team went on to lose the home series to New Zealand 0-3 and relinquished the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later in Australia losing 1-3 to the hosts. In the process, they also failed to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) for the first time, forcing the board to reportedly implement rules like making domestic cricket mandatory, not allowing players to travel separately, and not allowing families to accompany cricketers for more than 14 days on tours.

Speaking at the presser on Saturday while announcing the Champions Trophy squad, Agarkar spoke about the rules, as quoted by India Today:

"It's not a school, it's not a punishment. We have some rules and when you are playing for the national team, you following the rules. These are not school kids. These are superstars. They know how to handle themselves. But, at the end of the day, you play for your country. So you need to follow some rules. There were a lot of rules that were in place. You keep on refining it."

During the five-Test tour of Australia, there were also reports of rift within the group and Gautam Gambhir's coaching style has come to the spotlight after the team's struggles. Media reports have also suggested that BCCI will review Gambhir's role after the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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"We have spoken about various things" - Ajit Agarkar on BCCI implementing rules

Ajit Agarkar. (Image Credits: Getty)

Agarkar added that the BCCI saw the need to implement these rules to see more bonding between the players.

"I think every team has some rules in place. We have spoken about various things. We have seen in the last few months the need for some changes, more bonding in the team."

India will open their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.