“Players often complain about the blandness of food served in Australia,” an official was quoted as saying. “There are a few vegetarians in the team who really struggle at the grounds. The inspection team has also roped in an Indian restaurant in Australia to supply curries to the boys”, he further added.

The BCCI inspection team which had travelled to Australia to ensure smooth travel, and other arrangements for Team India, have informed the hosts Cricket Australia that the team will appreciate more vegetarian items on the menu, enough supply of fruits, and it will help if preparations were ‘Indianised’, reported Mumbai Mirror.

Reportedly, Indian cricket team players have become more specific about diet and other cricketing aspects. “Earlier, players would even consume cheeseburgers while on tour. It has all changed. Even if they indulge once-in-a-while, they are a highly disciplined lot during a series, which basically means minimum red meat,” the official said.

This particular decision comes after the recent controversy during Team India’s last tour to England when BCCI’s official twitter handle had tweeted a photo of the team’s lunch menu during the test match at Lord’s that included braised beef pasta. The incident had caused much furore in India and BCCI had received severe backlash regarding the inclusion of beef in the food menu.

India will play Australia in three T20Is, four Tests, and three ODIs in Australia from November 21 to January 18.