Virat Kohli, Vamika dragged as Suresh Raina shares no-nonsense take on BCCI's Family Diktat
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India is currently playing in England in a five-match Test series, which marks the start of their 2025-27 WTC cycle. However, India would never forget their humiliating exit from the race for the WTC final in 2025, after losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a humiliating margin of 1-3.
After the loss, the BCCI made some stern decisions to reform players as well as revamp the squad for better results in the coming years. The BCCI has released a 10-point guideline, one of which mentions that families will be allowed only a restricted time to spend with the players.
This step taken by the BCCI received a mixed response, as some former cricketers supported it; however, the modern greats like Virat Kohli showed disappointment over such a brute decision being made.
Suresh Raina backs Virat Kohli's disappointment
In a recent appearance on the YouTube channel of Ranveer Allahbadia, Suresh Raina, the former Indian middle-order batter, expressed that having a family alongside you on the tour helps players gain mental support during their lows.
"You do have mental health issues. When you are going through a lean phase and there's an army gunning for your spot, then such issues crop up. You fear being dropped. When chips are down you need someone to talk to," claimed Suresh Raina.
"It is very important to have family on tours. BCCI has taken a big decision that family is not allowed - I'm against this. You are sending them to a tour for two months...family should be allowed."
"It's not that they (family) are against the players, they (also) would want us to score runs and the country to win," added Suresh Raina.
To back his claims, he took up the reference to Virat Kohli. He said, "(Imagine) Virat Kohli playing, his daughter clapping - it's such a proud moment. He will set the stage on fire."
Indian players sponsored their families in the Champions Trophy
After the implication of the rules from the BCCI, the few players whose families were noted to be present at marquee events, like the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which was held in Dubai, were all on individual tours and not with the Indian side.
The families of cricketers like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma stayed in different hotels, and their expenses were borne by the players themselves and not by the BCCI.
Suresh Raina, the first all-format centurion from India
If it is unknown to any Indian cricket fan as to what Suresh Raina's impact was on Indian cricket history, then here is one of his milestones. Raina is known as Mr. IPL for his tremendous form with the Chennai Super Kings.
Raina was the leading run-scorer and the best batter in the IPL till he played in his prime; however, he not only played in the IPL, but he also made major contributions for the men in blue as well.
Suresh Raina was the first Indian batter to have hit a century in the ICC T20 World Cup for India; he was also the first Indian batter to have scored a century in all three formats of the game. Raina was a lower-order batter, despite which he amassed 5615 runs in the ODI format, while also adding 1605 T20I and 768 ODI runs.
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