The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to bring changes to its policy on allowing wives and girlfriends travel with their partners on overseas tours after Virat Kohli's request to do so.
The Committee of Administrators has agreed to allow WAGs to be with their partners after the first 10 days of an overseas tour till the end of it, according to The Times in India. While the said issue has been a topic of discussion over the years, the CoA finds no harm in allowing cricketers' partners to be with them even during important tours, considering the length of such overseas trips.
Kohli had reportedly approached a top BCCI official and urged the apex body of Indian cricket to allow WAGs to be present throughout the duration of overseas tours.
The issue of WAGs was discussed during the BCCI meeting, involving the members of the Indian team, the selection committee, the board officials and the CoA, last week.
It was reportedly decided in the high-profile meeting that India would follow the Australian WAGs policy, which allows WAGs to stay during a specific period on overseas tours.
A decision on next year's World Cup was also made wherein it was announced that WAGs would be allowed to join their partners only from the semi-final stage of the quadrennial tournament.
Notably, the BCCI had announced earlier this year that WAGs would be allowed only for two weeks during overseas tours — a policy which was put into place even during the recently-concluded England tour.
However, Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and quite a few other WAGs, including Sakshi Singh and Ritika Sajdeh, had stayed with their partners for more than two weeks.
The debate over WAGs' presence affecting cricketers' performances has been a long-standing narrative in cricket. Several members of losing Ashes teams have seen their partners take the blame for their showings in the high-profile Test series.
Recently, former India captain Gautam Gambhir had shared his thoughts on the issue, saying the company of WAGs works according to individuals.
"Some want family to be there for the whole tour while others want little family time and they try to concentrate (on cricket)," Gambhir had told India Today.
