'Sachin Tendulkar didn't have personal bodyguard traveling': Sanjay Manjrekar's strong take on BCCI guidelines

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a dig at Team India's cricket culture and compared it to "mainstream Bollywood". Manjrekar even gave the example of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in terms of personal security carried by certain players.

Manjrekar's comments come after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued a 10-point guideline for the centrally contracted players of Team India. The guidelines included discipline, team bonding, importance of domestic cricket, and the time a player spends with his family on tour.

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Sanjay Manjrekar compares Team India to Bollywood

While speaking on ESPNCricinfo Newsroom, Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his displeasure the way these guidelines have come up only after India's recent defeats. He felt that the steps should have been taken even when India was winning to prevent these losses.

"It's almost sort of juvenile that the moment India loses 3-0 against New Zealand and in Australia, these things come up. I wish this was addressed while India was winning. It shouldn't need a debacle of this kind for certain issues that particularly don't go well with the team culture," Manjrekar said.

"This is one of the smaller reasons for what we saw at home against New Zealand and in Australia. This has to be the basic norm. That is how we played in our entire career. We were sharing rooms. Families used to come during the last two weeks of a tour," he added.

The former India batter further compared India's cricket culture with Bollywood given the amount of following and the no. of security personnel needed for them. He hope the team to remain a sports team only.

"The culture that has crept into Indian cricket is a little similar to the culture we see in mainstream Bollywood. I wish after this, cricket and Indian cricket remain what it truly is: it's sport," he noted.

Sanjay Manjrekar cites Sachin Tendulkar's example

Sanjay Manjrekar gave an example of Sachin Tendulkar who didn't travel with any personal bodyguard despite being a huge star in those days. He believes that a personal bodyguard is not needed if a player is travelling with the team.

"Sachin Tendulkar was a huge star in our days. He used to be with the team. He didn't have a personal bodyguard travelling with the team. If you are with the team, there is obviously enough security there," said Sanjay Manjrekar.

The cricketer-turned-commentator raises questions on the presence of family members with the players and claimed that it affects the team bonding. He reckoned that the families shouldn't be allowed at all in the shorter tours.

New guidelines from BCCI

Recently, the BCCI announced a fresh set of guidelines for the centrally contracted players in Team India. The board has decided to be strict on the presence of families with the players. On a tour of 45 days or more, the families will be allowed to stay for not more than 14 days.

If a tour is shorter than 45 days, the families will be allowed to spend a week with the player. These rules were already in place but were relaxed after the Covid-19 pandemic considering the mental health of players.

These guidelines came in the wake of India's defeat to Australia in the five-match Test series. The board officials did a review meeting after the loss along with the head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Rohit Sharma, and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar