T20 World Cup: After lunch boycott, Team India refuses to go for practice sessions

Controversy hit the Indian camp ahead of the team’s second T20 World Cup 2022 clash against the Netherlands on Thursday. First the “inadequate” after-practice food menu and now an objectionable practice session menu.

The team refused to go to the practice venue allotted to them in Sydney owing to the substantial distance from their hotel in the Australian city.

The team did not do practice sessions after being offered a practice venue in Blacktown, a locality in the suburbs of Sydney. The venue was around 45 minutes away from the Team hotel, due to which the team refused to go there for practice sessions, ANI reported citing Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) sources. The practice venue offered was 42 kilometres away from their accomodation in Sydney.

The reports of the Indian team declining practice sessions comes after the team was left unhappy with the after-practice menu provided to them in Sydney. The menu served to them consisted of fruits, falafels and custom ‘cold’ sandwiches. The team was not pleased at the menu not including hot food.

“The food that was offered to Team India was not good. They were just given sandwiches and they have also told ICC that food provided after a practice session in Sydney was cold and not good,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying.

The sandwiches provided were not even grilled and consisted of avocado, tomato and cucumber. This was considered “plain and simple inadequate nourishment” after two hours of training for the India players, the source added.

While host nation’s cricket boards usually provide food during bilateral series, it is the International Cricket Council (ICC) which is providing food during the T20 World Cup 2022. BCCI is expected to intervene and take up the task of providing hot food to the team during practice sessions.