BCCI bars Indian players from visiting casinos in Australia

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed the Indian players, who are part of the squad travelling to Australia for the ODI and T20 series, to restrict themselves from visiting the casinos in Australia, Indian Express reports.

The team is currently in Melbourne for the third ODI of the five-match series, and they were told about the casino ban on their bus ride from Brisbane to Melbourne. The Men in Blue are staying in a five-star hotel, which has one of the most famous casinos in Australia in its premises.

The decision to bar the players from visiting casinos was taken by BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary Anurag Thakur. The reason being, players might meet the “wrong people” at such places and which can attract unwanted outcry from the media. The BCCI feels that the players represent the nation while on their tour and visiting a casino might be improper for a national cricketer.

The Indian team faces Australia in a do-or-die match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, knowing well that anything less than a win would mean that they won’t be able to win the ODI series. The hosts won the first two ODIs of the series in rather emphatic fashion, as they chased down 300+ scores in both the matches.

In the first ODi, riding on Rohit Sharma’s 171* in the first innings, India posted a total of 309 runs. However, Steven Smith and George Bailey scored a century each to help the Kangaroos win the match by 5 wickets. The story of the second ODI was not much different as Sharma scored his second century in as many matches, which helped the visiting team manage a total of 309 runs, again. Bailey, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh, all scored half-centuries to help Australia successfully complete the run-chase and win the match by 7 wickets.

Moin Khan was called back to Pakistan after his casino visit

Almost a year ago, during the World Cup in 2015, Pakistan’s chief selector Moin Khan was criticised heavily after he was made the subject of a probe by PCB for allegedly having visited a casino in Christchurch, New Zealand prior to his team’s game against West Indies. The former Pakistan wicketkeeper was ordered by the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to return to Pakistan mid-way through the World Cup.

“While there are widespread allegations into the conduct of the chief selector having brought the image of Pakistan and PCB into disrepute, there is no concrete proof available to substantiate the allegations against Moin Khan,” PCB said in a statement.

“Considering the sentiments of the public, media and various other stakeholders, PCB chairman Shaharyar M. Khan has ordered Moin to return back to Pakistan immediately to explain his position vis-a-vis his visit to the casino.”