diff --git a/lucene/core/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/BaseCompositeReader.java b/lucene/core/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/BaseCompositeReader.java
index ddd07815a7f..02d9765439d 100644
--- a/lucene/core/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/BaseCompositeReader.java
+++ b/lucene/core/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/BaseCompositeReader.java
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ public abstract class BaseCompositeReader<R extends IndexReader> extends Composi
   }
   
   @Override
-  public final List<? extends R> getSequentialSubReaders() {
+  protected final List<? extends R> getSequentialSubReaders() {
     return subReadersList;
   }
 }