“Don’t Want To Sit Alone And Sulk”: ‘Disappointed’ Virat Kohli Slams BCCI’s ‘Family Diktat’

Prominent Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has advocated for the inclusion of families on Team India’s tours, stating that their presence adds balance and a sense of normalcy, particularly during challenging moments for players, as reported by ESPNCricinfo. Virat’s remarks follow the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) implementing rules that limit players’ family time while on tours after India’s 3-1 defeat against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy abroad. It determined that players’ close relatives, including partners and children, may only accompany them for 14 days following the initial two weeks of a tour lasting more than 45 days. During shorter tours, players may have their families with them for as long as a week.

Speaking at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Virat said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “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’,” he added.

Virat said that no player would like to “sit alone and sulk” after a poor showing during a tour.

“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 said.

“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.

Notably, Virat was a part of India’s ICC Champions Trophy winning team recently, emerging as the team’s second-highest run-getter and overall fifth, with 218 runs in five matches at an average of 54.50. His standout knocks included a 100* against arch-rivals Pakistan while chasing 242 and a 98-ball 84 against Australia in the semifinals during a tough run-chase of 265 runs.