Laxity of some franchises forced us to take action, says BCCI secretary

A number of examples of ‘laxity on part of some franchises’ about adhering to protocols during IPL 2026 has forced the BCCI to wake up and issue a written directive to all 10 franchises to buckle up. IPL CEO Hemang Amin will hold a follow-up meeting with the franchisees on Saturday, 9 May, to appraise teams about the need to stay on guard after a major heads-up from the BCCI's Anti Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU).

While two contentious issues have come to light — both involving Rajasthan Royals with their manager Romi Bhinder found using a phone in the dugout and skipper Riyan Parag caught vaping in the dressing room — there have been other ‘serious’ breaches reported by ACSU head Sharad Kumar.

One of them, according to media reports, has been that of a girlfriend of a leading player allegedly passing team information to outsiders — which has set the BCCI thinking about placing curbs on players staying with families.

Confirming the issue of such a directive, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told National Herald over phone: ‘’There has been a laxity on part of a few franchises which go against our guidelines which have been reported by the ACSU. It may have crept in with time and hence, we found it necessary to sensitise the teams once again with a eight-page mail and the IPL CEO will chair the meeting on Saturday to emphasise on it and address any clarifications. We had a lengthy discussion on it during the IPL governing council meeting on Thursday and decided to act on it immediately."

The IPL has had its tryst with a wave of controversies in the past, right from ownership battles to a match-fixing saga which saw two teams being banned for two years.

While both Bhinder and Parag were fined for their transgressions, there are reports of visits from unauthorised people in the players’ hotel rooms which posed a major area of concern. The BCCI directive has asked the teams to remain cautious of targeted honey-trapping during the competition which is now heading towards the business-end, unauthorised movement and the pitfalls of violating the protocols.

“It has come to the attention of the BCCI that certain incidents of misconduct and protocol violation have occurred, involving players and support staff and team officials during the course of the current IPL season. These incidents if left unaddressed, carry the potential to cause significant reputational harm to the tournament, the franchise concerned and the BCCI as the governing body. They may further expose individuals and franchises to legal liability and security risks of serious nature,” the board’s letter read. The names of at least three franchises have been aired for the suspected breaches.

‘’Instances have been noted of players and support staff leaving team hotels at irregular hours without informing the designated Security Liaison Officers (SLOs) or Team Integrity Officer (TIOs). Such departures create significant security vulnerabilities and expose individuals to risks that cannot be mitigated if the relevant personnel are uninformed,’’ said Saikia in the letter.

The document also mentioned the breaches by unnamed team owners, who haven't maintained the sanctity of the Players’ and Match Officials Access (PMOA) and spelt out the 'dos and don'ts' again.