Highlights
- Indian star players were seen displeased with the quality of food they were served in Sydney hotel
- India had an optional training session on Tuesday
- The Netherlands will be India's next opponents in Super 12 stage
The stars of the Indian cricket team were displeased with the quality of the food they were served on Tuesday (October 25) after they returned back to their hotel rooms. The Indian players were not served hot food and they were also displeased with the quality of the food served by the hotel management. India are in Sydney ahead of their second Super 12 encounter against the Netherlands that takes place on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
It is understood that the after-practice menu is almost the same for all teams and Indian players are not being provided with hot food, which according to BCCI sources is a must after an intense training session.
The Indian team had an optional training session on Tuesday where all the fast bowlers were rested alongside all-rounder Hardik Pandya, batter Suryakumar Yadav and spinner Axar Patel.
It is learnt that the after-practice food included custom sandwiches along with fruits and falafel (very common in this part of the world). With the training getting over nearly by afternoon, it was lunch time and perhaps players were expecting a full course meal.
"It's not like any boycott. Some players did pick up fruits and falafel but everyone wanted to have lunch and hence they had food going back to the hotel," a BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
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"The problem is that the ICC isn't providing any hot food after lunch. In a bilateral series, the host association is in charge of catering and they always provide hot Indian meals after a training session. But for ICC, the rule is the same for all countries," the official further said.
"You can't just have a cold sandwich (not even grilled) with avocado, tomato and cucumber after two hours of training. That is plain and simple inadequate nourishment," he added.
It will be interesting if BCCI steps in and arranges for hot Indian meals for the coming training sessions.
