Does a sanskari BCCI now want India's cricketers never to be seen with a glass of beer?

India has just found a sports version of sanskari censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani. According to a report in The Hindu, the BCCI has censured Bangalore boy KL Rahul and his teammates for posting pictures with a pint of beer during the team’s tour to the West Indies. Why? Because cricketers are “role models” who are supposed to set a good example for children.

It is not evident whether the Board is worried about Rahul’s health – for the record, he has never been fitter in his short international career, and is currently in the form of his life – or about the tired moral image associated with drinking. Let’s consider both.

Whom exactly is beer bad for?

When Anil Kumble took over as coach of the team a few weeks ago, he said physical fitness was the biggest difference between his generation and the current crop of cricketers. Kumble is not prone to exaggeration – on most days, this Indian team is at par with the Australians and South Africans in the field.

Virat Kohli isn’t the only one who spends hours in the gym. Perhaps in keeping with the times, this is a cricketing generation of chiseled bodies, stylish beards and selfies. Beer is a mere prop in the frame. To them it is only as important as the filters and the hashtags.

So maybe, it’s about image. Or the impact such photographs can have on young, impressionable minds. Are today’s teenagers gullible enough to get swayed by photos of beer-drinking cricketers? Are they not likely to also notice the toned biceps and six-pack abs in those pictures? Or the runs scored and wickets taken?

You have to be really an old-fashioned moralist to miss this. It’s all the more surprising because this is a Board run by a 41-year-old politician who manages his party’s youth wing. Of course, Anurag Thakur comes from the BJP, the same party that has banned beef in Maharashtra – but let’s not convolute the argument by mixing cricket and politics.

Cricket and commerce, though, go hand in hand. It’s rather surprising, if not hypocritical, that the BCCI is comfortable hosting the cash-rich Indian Premier League which includes a team run by an alcohol company. Not incidentally, Rahul and Kohli play for the same team.

Or think about the now-infamous after-parties where alcohol would flow freely late into the night – and where the teams had to compulsorily make an appearance. Or consider the cheerleaders made to wear White Mischief tops promoting holidays, not vodka (yeah, right).

The players don't need censorship

Perhaps the Board is worried some players can’t hold a drink. Or will get into a tricky situation like they apparently did in a Saint Lucia pub in the Caribbean back in 2010. It’s easy to fix this: enforce disciplinary action. It is that simple.

It has been many years since the BCCI gagged its players during the cricket season, allowing them to speak primarily at press conferences under the supervision of a media manager. It is rather unfair now that the BCCI has chosen to gag them online too.

So the message is clear: Go to the Caribbean, play cricket, head to your hotel room, eat, sleep and repeat.

It’s time the BCCI bosses got themselves a drink and loosened up. The cricketers chose to be cautious and deleted the photographs. We can do without censorship.