“I feel quite disappointed” - Virat Kohli slams BCCI for restricting families on tours

Indian star batter Virat Kohli has finally responded to the decision taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to restrict families and children from India’s away tours. Notably, this decision was taken after Team India’s 1-3 drubbing in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

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Speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of the IPL 2025, Virat Kohli has batted for the presence of families on India’s tours. He has asserted that having families and children around them would bring balance and normalcy during tough times. 

The BCCI’s new directive states that players' immediate families, partners, and children could only join them for 14 days after the first two weeks of a tour of over 45 days. On the other hand, on short tours, players can be accompanied by their families for seven days.

"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, which happens on the outside. I do not think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it is like people who have no control over what is going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, 'oh, maybe they need to be kept away'," Virat Kohli stated.

"I want to be able to be normal. And then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. You finish that responsibility, and you come back to life," he added.

"Like, there could be different situations happening in your life all the time. And that allows you to be absolutely normal. Not in a vague sense, but in a very real way that you finish your commitment, your responsibility, and then you come back to your house, you are with family, and there's absolutely normalcy in your house and normal family life goes on. So, for me, that is absolutely a day of immense pleasure. And I would not miss any opportunities to go out and spend time with my family whenever I can," he concluded.

Virat Kohli played a crucial role in propelling Team India to lift the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title. He was the team’s second highest run-scorer with 218 runs in five games at an average of 54.5. He will be next seen playing for the RCB franchise in IPL 2025.

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