Wives on tour may lead to divided loyalties

The skipper of the Indian Cricket Team, Virat Kohli, has reportedly asked the BCCI to allow players’ wives and girlfriends to accompany them for the full duration of long overseas tours, and his plea has got people divided on whether or not it should be granted. World’s renowned sports psychologist Dr Phil Jauncey says that he’s “not sure” if having WAGS around will be beneficial to the players.

“There are a variety of sides to the issue. On the one hand are the needs of the wife, the children and the husband who may be separated for long periods during tours. On the other, are the needs of the team,” Dr Jauncey says in an exclusive phone conversation from Sri Lanka.

Zaheer Khan with wife and actress Sagarika Ghatge

He goes on to explain, “It is common knowledge that on some tours, wives have had spats with other wives. And that puts the players in the middle, thus creating divisions within the team. Does a player stand by his wife against a teammate’s wife, or does he try to remain neutral? ”

Yuvraj Singh with wife and model Hazel Keech

“From a psychological point of view, it certainly not clear whether the benefits of having the family on tour outweigh the potential negative effects. Conversely, we cannot say with total confidence that the benefits of not having the family on tour outweigh the drawbacks of separation,” Dr Jauncey concludes.

Meanwhile...
Virat Kohli, who’s in the city to play a test match against West Indies, recently spent some time with none other than Tollywood actor Akhil Akkinneni. Apparently, when Akhil heard that the Indian skipper was shooting for a commercial at Annapurna Studios, he decided to drop by for a chat.

HT03