Indian cricket team to travel to Sri Lanka minus WAGs

Ravi Shastri’s commentary stint during the Ashes will see the team director miss the early part of India’s tour of Sri Lanka. (Source: File)

THE Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to not allow the Indian cricketers to take their wives and girlfriends (WAGs) along for the Test tour to Sri Lanka next month.

A majority of the 15-member squad led by Virat Kohli have been on a break from cricket since returning from Bangladesh last month, and the board felt that they should stick to their earlier protocol regarding players’ partners.

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“Most of the players on tour are just coming off a month-long break where they had enough time to spend with their families. And we’ve decided that their wives will not be allowed on tour,” a top BCCI official said confirming the board’s decision.

Shastri to reach late

Meanwhile, it’s learnt that the Indian team will not only be without a head coach, but also their team director. And Ravi Shastri, who’s away in England as a TV analyst with Sky Sports for the ongoing Ashes, is not expected to join Kohli & Co till the eve of the first Test in Galle, which begins on August 12. The visitors would have by then already played a three-day warm-up game at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium.

It is learnt that the former India captain had informed the BCCI in advance about his media commitments. He will reach Sri Lanka on August 9.

However, a top Indian cricket board official confirmed that Shastri couldn’t be held responsible for missing out on the early part of the Sri Lanka trip as the board had advanced the Test series while finalising the itinerary. He had by then already signed the contract with Sky Sports.

“Shastri will join the team a bit late as he is presently a pundit on a post-match show on Sky Sports for the Ashes series. He had informed the BCCI about it and as we finalised the BCCI itinerary a bit late, he had already taken permission to skip the early part,” a BCCI official informed.

Meanwhile, the BCCI is yet to finalise the replacement for Duncan Fletcher, who ended his tenure as coach post the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand a few months ago. It is learnt that the newly appointed cricket advisory committee that includes retired greats, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, will be meeting sooon to discuss the issue.

With no-one at the helm, the management part of the team will be left to the support staff made up of Bharat Arun, Sanjay Bangar and R Sridhar. While Shastri will be around as director for all three Tests, his future in the role continues to remain shrouded in mystery.