NEW DELHI: England captain Jos Buttler stated on Tuesday that having partners and kids on extended foreign missions is “really important” and does not “too much” impact the game, as Indian players prepare to spend less time with their families during extended tours overseas according to a BCCI directive.
A controversial provision in the BCCI’s recently released 10-point player disciplinary policy was the restriction of time spent with family members while on tour.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of India in Test and One-Day International matches, has already expressed his concerns over the provision that limits family vacations to 45 days at two weeks.
“…that’s a loaded question, isn’t it?” Buttler said on the eve of the five-match series against the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian T20 side, seemingly well aware of the current turmoil here following a disastrous Test tour of Australia.
“I think it’s important. We live in a day and age now, which is a very modern world, and I think it’s great to be able to have families on the tour with you and try and enjoy that,” he added.
“There’s a lot of cricket, people spend a long time away from home, and I think post-COVID all that’s been highlighted as well. Absolutely, I don’t think it affects the cricket too much.”
However, Buttler also claimed that families may be handled well and do not conflict with work obligations.
“I think it’s something that is very manageable. Personally, from my point of view, I think it’s really important to try and be able to share that with your family and lighten the load on being away from home,” he explained.
According to the BCCI, head coach Gautam Gambhir must provide his prior consent before any changes are made to the family time rule.
