Team India Makes Three Demands For Next Year's World Cup In England

Team India have put forth their demands for the next year’s World Cup in England.

With an eye on reclaiming the World Cup, India will be travelling to England in next summer. And to ensure that the players remain in the best of mental conditions, the team has reportedly made three demands from the BCCI. As per report in The Indian Express, the team has asked for a reserved train coach,  permission for wives to accompany players for the entire tour — and bananas.

The team forwarded the requests to the board during the review meeting with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Hyderabad. The review meeting was held before the second Test against Windies and was attended by skipper Virat Kohli, Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, coach Ravi Shastri and chairman of selection committee M S K Prasad.

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The report claimed that the CoA was startled by the team’s plea for bananas in the dressing room.

A source said that the England and Wales Cricket Board failed to provide the Indian team the fruit of their choice during the series earlier this year.

“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,” a sources told the news outlet.

“There were other demands about booking hotels with a proper gym. And discussions about the duration and protocol regarding wives accompanying players on tours,” the source added.

India had begun the tour of England on a good note. They won the T20I series and the first ODI before going on to lose the ODIs 2-1 and Tests 4-1.

The other demand that raised eyebrows in the CoA was the preference for train travel in England during next year’s World Cup.

The request comes after the CoA decided that wives of players travelling to Australia for the tour starting next month will not be allowed to travel in the official team bus. The Vinod Rai-led committee had decided that the wives would travel in a separate vehicle.

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“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,” a source said.

For the World Cup in England, the players argued that rail travel saves time and is more comfortable.

“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,” the source claimed.

As of now nothing is clear on whether the BCCI and the CoA has agreed to the players’ demands.

Coming to the World Cup, England will take on South Africa in the opener on May 30, 2019, at The Oval in London.

The tournament will last for 45 days with 48 matches to be played. India will start their campaign against the Proteas on June 5.  The format for the 2019 edition will see 10 best teams in the world going head-to-head in a round-robin format. The tournament will culminate with the fifth final at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 14.