Virat Kohli disappointed with BCCI’s new family rule, says their presence brings greater responsibility

Renowned Indian cricketer Virat Kohli recently commented on BCCI’s new rule of restricting families to go with players on tour, saying the presence of families is important as players go through rough stints on tours.

BCCI’s new rule was announced after India's 1-3 loss in the Test series against Australia earlier this year, which stated that partners and children of players cannot join them on tours lasting more than 45 days after the first two weeks, with their stay limited to 14 days.

"It's very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside," Kohli said at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit before IPL 2025, as quoted by was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The former Indian captain also became the fastest batter to reach the landmark of 14000 runs in ODIs breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record.

"I don't think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it's like people who have no control over what's going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, 'oh, maybe they need to be kept away',” Kohli said.

The 36-year-old recently played for India in the Champions Trophy and helped it win the title for the third time after 2002 and 2013.

"If you ask any player, do you want your family to be around you all the time? You'll be like, yes. I don't want to go to my room and just sit alone and sulk. I want to be able to be normal. And then you can really treat your game as something that is a responsibility. You finish that responsibility, and you come back to life,” Kohli added.

During the Champions Trophy, Kohli’s wife and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma was seen cheering for her husband from the stands.

He was seen celebrating the win in the finals against New Zealand, with Anushka.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh and their daughter Samaira also came to support him during the Champions Trophy.