Virat Kohli opposes BCCI’s new family restrictions on tours

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli has openly disagreed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) newly introduced directive that restricts the time players can spend with their families on international tours.

Kohli believes that having family around brings “absolutely normalcy” and helps cricketers deal with the pressures of the game.

Following India’s 3-1 Border-Gavaskar Trophy defeat to Australia, the BCCI implemented new rules limiting players’ immediate families—partners and children—to joining them only after two weeks on long tours (spanning over 45 days) and staying for a maximum of 14 days. For shorter tours, families are only allowed to accompany players for one week.

Speaking at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of IPL 2025, Virat Kohli strongly defended the presence of families during tours, emphasizing their emotional support in difficult times.

“It is very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something intense happening on the outside,” Kohli said.

The former India captain also expressed disappointment over the perception that families should be kept away from players to maintain focus.

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“I feel quite disappointed because people who have no control over what is going on are dragged into conversations and made scapegoats. It’s unfair to suggest that keeping families away will somehow improve performance,” he added.

Virat Kohli further stated that after a tough day on the field, no player wants to “sit alone and sulk.”

“I want to be able to be normal. That way, you can treat cricket as a responsibility—once you’re done with it, you come back to life,” he further stated.

“There are always different situations happening in life, and having your family around helps you stay grounded and feel normal.”

Kohli made it clear that he values every opportunity to spend time with his loved ones and would never willingly miss out on those moments.

“For me, that is a day of immense pleasure, and I would not miss any opportunity to spend time with my family whenever I can,” he concluded.

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