"It's not a vacation.." India head coach Gautam Gambhir in full support of BCCI's family rule

Gautam Gambhir took over as Indian cricket team’s head coach in 2024.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has supported the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) new family rule that limits the time players’ loved ones spend with them on overseas tours. Following the catastrophic Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia, where India lost 1-3, the BCCI released a new set of rules for players.

A new regulation that limits how long relatives can stay with players was implemented by the BCCI after the series. Families may only accompany players for 14 days on tours that run 45 days or longer, according to the updated policy. The stay is restricted to no more than seven days for shorter tours.

Virat Kohli, the former captain of the Indian test team, was outspoken about the rule and acknowledged that he didn’t like it. Kohli said he doesn’t like going back to his room and pouting when his family isn’t around.

“Families are important, but..”- Gautam Gambhir

In a special chat with Cheteshwar Pujara for Sony Sports Network, Gambhir said that players need to realize they are serving the country and are not on vacation.

The India coach stated that he has nothing against families being there, but he stressed that cricket must continue to be the major emphasis and that players must remain totally dedicated to the team’s objective.

“Families are important, but you’ve got to understand one thing. You are here for a purpose. It’s not a holiday. You’re here for a huge purpose. You’ve got very few people in that dressing room or on this tour who gets this opportunity to make the country proud. So yes, I’m not against not having families with us.

It is important to have families, but if your focus is towards making our country proud and you have a much bigger role than any other thing, and you’re committed to that goal, you’re committed to that cause, I think everything else is fine. But for me, I think that cause and that goal are more important than any other thing,” said Gambhir.

I never switch off: Gautam Gambhir

The Indian coach said that he has trouble shutting off after a game when Pujara questioned him about it. Gambhir stated that he was already planning for the forthcoming game at the Lord’s and figuring out the best team lineup for that match, using the Edgbaston test victory as an example.

“That’s a tough question. I still haven’t understood how do I switch off because I never switch off, and sometimes it’s very funny and it’s very weird. Honestly, when we won the last test match, the moment we won the last test match, the first thing that came to my mind was what is going to be the combination would be for the next Test?

And when I went back to my room, I was thinking, how does that work? We’ve just won a test match. The guys have worked hard to make a comeback after the first one. I already started thinking about what’s going to be the combination, how can we win the next one? But I still haven’t figured out how to switch off,” said Gambhir.

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