Team India players banned from eating pork, beef; only halal meat allowed: Reports

Cricket Desk: Team India bounced back with a 3-0 clean sweep of New Zealand in the recently-concluded T20 series after a disappointing campaign at the T20 World Cup 2021. It was a clinical performance from the hosts throughout the series as they won all three games in a row against the T20 World Cup finalists to kick start the new era of Indian cricket under head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma with a win.

While the team's performance was lauded by many on social media, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) got embroiled in a fresh controversy after a report claimed the board has banned beef and pork in any form in the new strict diet regimen for the Indian men's cricket team. The report also stated that the players have been asked to consume meat only in halal form.

"According to the new dietary plan of the Indian cricket team, players aren’t allowed to eat pork and beef in any form and variety in order to keep themselves fit and healthy," read a report in Sports Tak. 

"If anyone wants to have meat then it should be only in halal form, players can’t eat any other form of meat whatsoever," the report added.

Fans have been left irked by BCCI's alleged decision to ban all other forms of meat except halal, with many claiming it is against Hindus as eating halal meat is forbidden and against the religion. There are two ways of slaughtering an animal - the halal method where the animal is given a cut and is left to bleed slowly, and the jhatka method where the animal is slaughtered in one go.

Muslims consume only halal meat and abstain from eating any other type of meat. As per the report, BCCI has introduced the strict dietary plan to ensure players remain fit and healthy for the upcoming tournaments and major events without gaining unnecessary weight. However, fans on Twitter have accused the BCCI of promoting halal meat.

Rohit-led India defeated New Zealand by a big margin of 73 runs in the third and final T20I of the series at the Eden Gardens on Sunday to register a clean sweep against the Kiwis. Batting first, India posted a strong total of 184 runs on the board before Axar Patel and Harshal Patel combined to run riot with the ball.

The duo picked up five wickets between them to bundle out the Kiwis for a paltry 111 and help India register a huge win and clinch the series 3-0. India will now play a two-match Test series against New Zealand which gets underway from Thursday (November 25).