New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India has issued a fresh advisory to all Indian Premier League franchises after its Anti-Corruption Unit flagged multiple breaches involving unauthorised access to team spaces, including dugouts, buses and hotels.
The move comes after the board received inputs from the ACU about individuals being present in restricted zones during the ongoing IPL season, prompting the BCCI to call a meeting of all franchise CEOs this weekend to reinforce operational protocols and discuss possible action against teams and individuals found violating the rules.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the board has identified several lapses and warned that strict action would follow if franchises fail to comply with established norms.
“There are unauthorised persons travelling in the team bus. There are unauthorised persons in team hotels, and there are some unauthorised persons in the dugout area. … Some people have been spotted in places where they are not supposed to be,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told The Indian Express.
Saikia said the protocols governing player conduct and team operations have existed since the IPL began in 2008, but there has been a growing sense of casualness in following them.
“All these norms and all these advisories are already part of the protocols. But people are becoming casual nowadays, so we are reminding them that if that we will not show any leniency if there’s any violation,” Saikia said.
The BCCI has already circulated the advisory and plans to follow it up with a formal discussion involving all franchises.
“All these things we have noticed, an advisory has been done this evening and by Saturday, the IPL CEO will have a meeting with the CEOs of all the franchises either online or physical so that everyone knows the importance of this advisory.”
Saikia said the board’s Anti-Corruption Unit has been actively monitoring activities around teams and has submitted reports on incidents beyond those already known publicly.
The ACU, headed by former IPS officer Sharad Kumar, has reportedly provided intelligence inputs on multiple instances of rule violations.
“We have got all these reports from our anti-corruption unit. We have been very proactive… they have pointed out, we have to take action.”
So far, the only officially acknowledged disciplinary cases involve Rajasthan Royals. In one case, a team manager was penalised for using a mobile phone in the dugout, a direct breach of IPL regulations. In another, captain Riyan Parag came under scrutiny after a video of him vaping inside the dressing room surfaced online.
According to Saikia, action has already been taken in both instances, but the investigation into the vaping incident remains open.
“These incidents are already in the public domain and we have taken action,” Saikia said.
He added that the matter is still under review and further disciplinary steps remain a possibility.
“We might take further action in the vaping incident as it’s still open… We are not sitting idle. We want everybody to know that these kinds of things will not be tolerated in the IPL or in any BCCI match.
“They have informed us of all these things which may not be in the public domain or in the media, but they have also taken action,” Saikia said.
The BCCI’s renewed focus on restricted-access compliance also brings back memories of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing controversy, where Gurunath Meiyappan was found guilty of illegal betting and sharing inside information with bookmakers. He was later banned for life from cricket-related activities.
Source: The Indian Express
