No hot food on menu, Indian cricketers unhappy with after-practice meal

The Indian cricket team wasn’t exactly pleased with the after-practice menu on Tuesday and a few members decided to have food back in their hotel rooms.

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 learned 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.

“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.