“That’s gonna put even more stress on Virat Kohli” - Former Australia cricketer’s take on new BCCI guidelines

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has been critical about the new BCCI rules and regulations regarding family after they lost 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 in Australia. The 53-year-old believes that the new guidelines are likely to create more pressure on the players like Virat Kohli.

He believes that the problems were basically related to transition and that the new head coach Gautam Gambhir needed more time than the previous two coaches Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri.

The remarks came as BCCI reportedly have allowed players to accompany family for only two weeks during a 45-day long tour.

Brad Hogg said on his YouTube channel:

"14:42 – With the new rules that the BCCI have brought in in regards to families, that’s even gonna put more stress on Virat Kohli for his wife and family as well because you gotta have that balance. I think players should be able to have their families on tour as much as possible, especially with the amount of cricket and the amount of travel that India have at the present moment."

"15:10 – I think that India’s problems in Australia weren’t so much with the families around. It was more of the culture that’s been build up within the rooms with the new coach and so forth," he added."

"He does a little bit differently to the previous coaches" - Brad Hogg on Gautam Gambhir after new BCCI policy emerges

Brad Hogg reiterated that Gautam Gambhir need a little bit more time with the Indian setup owing to his unique planning and startegy. He advised him to sit back and relax instead of trying to control a lot of things. The cricketer-turned-commentator continued:

"15:22 - When you have a change of coach, sometimes it’s a smooth transition, sometimes it takes a little bit of time and Gautam Gambhir has got his own way about him. He does a little bit differently to the previous coaches."

"So, if he can just sit back, relax a little bit, or try and build the culture within rather than put these strict rules from the outside which is gonna put pressure on the players as well both with family commitments as well as with sponsors commitments. It might affect their performances," he added.

Notably, Gambhir is under the scanner ahead of 2025 ICC Champions Trophy after losing two Test series against New Zealand and Australia besides the ODI series in Sri Lanka.