'Apparently, the England cricket board failed to serve the Indian team with the fruit of their choice during the tour. But the CoA was amused by the request and said that the players should have told the team manager to buy bananas on the BCCI’s expenses,' sources said
Mumbai: For the next year's World Cup in England, Indian cricketers have put forward a list of requests to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
During a review meeting with the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Hyderabad recently, three requests were made, according to a report in Indian Express.
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The meeting was attended by captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and selection committee chairman MSK Prasad.
The Men in Blue want a reserved train coach, permission for players's wives to be accompanying them for the entire duration of the World Cup and a lot of bananas in the dressing room.
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ICC World Cup 2019 will be played in England from May 31 to July 14. India's first match is against South Africa on June 5 in Southampton.
As per the newspaper report, CoA was stunned by the team's request for bananas.
“Apparently, the England cricket board (ECB) failed to serve the Indian team with the fruit of their choice during the (recent) tour. But the CoA was amused by the request and said that the players should have told the team manager to buy bananas on the BCCI’s expenses,” sources told Indian Express.
“There were other demands about booking hotels with a proper gym and discussions about the duration and protocol regarding wives accompanying players on tours,” they added.
CoA was concerned with the train travel for the Indian team and felt it could lead to security issues. However, the Indian players argued that England cricketers travelled by train and it saved time.
“The CoA was initially not willing to agree because it was worried about security. But it was informed by Kohli that the England team travelled by train… The team wants a coach to be blocked and booked. The CoA was worried about travelling Indian fans mobbing the train. Eventually, the committee agreed under the condition that the CoA or BCCI won’t be held responsible if anything untoward happens,” sources said.
On the request of wives accompanying players for the entire duration of World Cup, the sources in the Indian cricket board said, "It was felt that some players might view this as a distraction during tours. They (CoA) want to make sure that everyone is onboard before they give the green light."
For the next month's tour to Australia, wives will not be allowed to travel in the team bus and a separate vehicle will be arranged.
“There have been instances in past where a few players have driven with their wives separately. The board wants to stop that practice as it affects team bonding,” sources said.
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