Harish sharma

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Veteran cricket coach Harish Sharma, who guided players like Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, VRV Singh, and Siddharth Kaul, has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) strict guidelines for senior men's team to enforce discipline among squad members following their two consecutive Test series defeats against New Zealand and Australia.

Apart from the restrictions on the wives and girlfriends accompanying the players on lengthy tours, the BCCI's new policy also bars players from engaging in personal shoots or endorsements during ongoing series or tours. Henceforth, the players will also be discouraged from leaving practice sessions early. Participation in BCCI's official shoots and functions will be mandatory for the players.

"These (restrictions) should have been in place before. When a player is on a task, he should focus on that task. I don't think players can get busy with family or photo shoots or parties as when we go on tour, our motive is to win on foreign pitches and these things distract them," Harish Sharma told IANS on Friday. "If you focus on other factors then it will impact your performance," he added.