“It’s not a holiday” - Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on BCCI’s family rule amid ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on the BCCI's family rule amid the overseas Test series against England. He appeared in an exclusive interview with Cheteshwar Pujara on the opening day of the third match at Lord's.

Following the debacle of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in Australia, the BCCI came up with a new set of rules. Among those were: families are allowed to accompany players for only 14 days during tournaments lasting 45 days or longer.

Gautam Gambhir defended the rule, saying that while family is important, the players have a bigger purpose to serve.

"Family's role is important. But you've got to understand one thing, you are here for a purpose. It's not a holiday. You are here for a huge purpose. Very few people are on this tour and have the opportunity to make the country proud. I am not against having families with us. But if you're focus is towards making your country proud and you are committed to that goal and cause, it is far important than any other thing," he stated. (10:12) (via Sony Sports Network)

India lost the opening Test against England at Headingley but bounced back in the second in Birmingham.

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Gautam Gambhir on importance of first-class cricket and backing players

Gautam Gambhir also spoke about the importance of first-class cricket, especially for someone looking to make a comeback, citing the example of Karun Nair.

"The only way you can look at a comeback or think of playing Test cricket for India if you've been dropped is going back to first-class cricket and score heaps of runs. Karun Nair has done that. For me, first-class cricket is very important. The foundation of Indian cricket is the first-class structure," he said. (9:40)

Notably, Nair made a comeback after seven years on the back of a solid performance in the latest domestic season.

The former India opener added that the team is focused on delivering results despite being young or relatively inexperienced.

"Results are important. We come from a country where we are the proudest cricketing nation in the world. They expect us to give them results. Because we are a young team we don't want to give excuses. I don't believe in that. It is an Indian team. There could be a less experienced and a more experienced team, with more experienced and less experienced individuals," he reflected. (8:33)

Gautam Gambhir also expressed the importance of backing these players and showing them the right path, while not compromising on results at the same time.