Team India's dietary plan with halal meat and no beef, pork only for Kanpur Test vs New Zealand - Report

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 BCCI 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.

However, the dietary plan has been shared by the Indian team management and not the BCCI for the upcoming first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur that starts from November 25 (Thursday). As per a report in India Today, "No pork and beef whatsoever in any form and variety. All meat must be Halal," is written as part of the catering requirements for Team India for the Kanpur Test and marked as 'important'.

Fans have been left irked by the Indian team management's 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. Fans also dragged BCCI into the controversy slamming the board over the dietary plan.

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. 

However, as per India Today, the dietary plan has not come from the BCCI but the team management, which has to share the dietary plan along with security and logistics with the host board. The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association is the host board for the first Test which will be played in Kanpur. It is a regular procedure to share the security, diet and logistics plans with the host board before an international game.

Nonetheless, fans on Twitter have accused the BCCI of promoting halal meat after the details of their new dietary plan were reported.

Here's how Twitter reacted to halal met being made compulsory for Team India:

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A dietary plan is shared every time the Indian team travels overseas as well for tournaments or series and the menu reportedly has directives for halal meat most of the time. It is also to be noted that the current Indian Test squad has a Muslim player.

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).