A very interesting and shocking news is coming out from the cricket world at this time. As soon as he became the new Test captain of the England cricket team, experienced batsman Joe Root has started showing his tough attitude. As soon as Joe Root took over as captain, he ended the controversial 'Midnight Curfew' rule imposed on the team forever. After this decision of Joe Root, there is a strong discussion in the cricket circles that what was this midnight curfew rule, why was it implemented and why did Joe Root take the big step of removing it as soon as he became the captain? Let us know the complete and detailed information about this entire matter. What was the controversial 'Midnight Curfew' rule and why was it needed? The 'Midnight Curfew' was imposed by the management to maintain discipline within the England men's cricket team and to control the off-field behavior of the players. Under this rule, players were completely banned from leaving the hotel rooms or going to pubs and clubs after a certain time at night (especially after 12 o'clock). The main reason behind strict enforcement of this rule was that during the last few tours (such as the Ashes series and New Zealand tour), the names of some of England's leading players had come up in incidents of indiscipline like late night parties, consumption of alcohol and clashes outside nightclubs. After the tarnished image of the team and poor performance on the field, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and management had made this strict curfew mandatory to crack down on the players. The matter was heated after the controversy between Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson. This rule became the subject of maximum discussion and controversy when the then England captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were accused of violating the rules of this midnight curfew. After registering a spectacular win in the Lord's Test match against New Zealand, reports of these players staying out till late night came to light, after which the disciplinary committee took a tough stance and suspended them for a few matches. After this entire incident, there was turmoil in English cricket, Ben Stokes retired from international Test cricket, and head coach Brendon McCullum also had to step down from his post. Only after this the selectors decided to once again hand over the captaincy of England's red ball (Test) to Joe Root. Why did Joe Root remove this rule as soon as he became captain? Speaking in a podcast soon after taking over the captaincy, Joe Root made it clear that there would be no room for any such dictatorial curfew in his team. Joe Root said in his statement that he believes that such restrictive rules never prove to be effective. If you want players to take full responsibility on the field, they have to be taught to think and take decisions like a mature and sensible adult off the field. Root clearly said that the players know very well what is the responsibility of playing for England and how they have to balance between their personal life and professionalism.
"Players are mature adults, understand their own responsibilities"
While giving free rein to the players, Joe Root also said that this does not mean that indiscipline will be encouraged, but he wants a strong and positive culture to develop within the team. He laughingly said that there should be no restrictions on celebrating victory and having a 'sensible beer' with teammates, as players are also human beings after all. This new pairing of head coach Stephen Fleming and captain Joe Root wants that the entire team's focus should be only on the excellent performance and game on the field, and not on the complexities of the rules outside. This new era is going to be officially started with the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.