BCCI doesn’t advise any of its players what to eat and what not to eat: Treasurer Arun Dhumal

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal has clarified that the Board has not given any instructions to its players over the kind of food to consume. He said that they have no role in deciding the team’s menu and the players are free to choose what they want to eat.

A controversy erupted after claims that BCCI had introduced a new dietary plan for the team as per which players were instructed not to have pork or beef. Reports also claimed that the BCCI asked the players consume only halal meat. The reports alleging the above went viral on social media with many criticizing the cricket board for promoting halal meat.

Dhumal, however, dismissed all reports and told India Today, “This (diet plan) has never been discussed and will not be enforced. I don’t know when this decision was taken or if it was. As far as I know, we never issued any guidelines related to diet plans. As far as food habits are concerned, it is the individual choice of players, BCCI has no role in it.”

Explaining that this ‘halal’ thing may have happened on any player’s feedback at some point in time, he further elaborated, “For example, if a player says he doesn’t eat beef and if a foreign team comes then the food should not be mixed. This halal issue has never been brought to BCCI’s attention.

The BCCI doesn’t advise any of its players what to eat and what not to eat. Players are free to choose their own food. Whether they want to be vegetarian, it’s their choice, whether they want to be vegan, it’s their choice, whether they want to be non-vegetarian, it’s their choice,” he added.

Meanwhile, India are all set to take on New Zealand in the first Test of the two-match series, starting November 25 in Kanpur. India clinched the recently-concluded T20I series 3-0.

–By A Cricket Correspondent