With the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) all set to begin in UAE from 19th September, the chief of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) from BCCI, Ajit Singh, said that there will not be any special measures adopted this year, adding that it “could be safer” but no grand precautions have been made.
The popular cricket league was slated to commence on 29th March but the date got pushed due to the coronavirus pandemic. A new schedule has taken its place with September 19th as the first day of the season and November 10th marks the final match. The opening match is set to be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
Speaking about the safety of the season given the bio-secure environment chosen amidst the scare around the world, Mr. Singh said, “No special measures for IPL but better from anti-corruption point of view.”
Days back, ESPN Cricinfo reported the ACU saying, “One can’t say whether it is going to be the safest one, but definitely it is going to be better from the anti-corruption point of view because there is going to be no interaction between the teams, support staff, and outsiders.”
“This season is going to be comparatively more secure. But, still, it is not (going to be) foolproof thing,” he added.
The tournament will last for 53 days in three stadiums of UAE, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The arrival of the cricketers of each of the teams participating will be on August 20th.
Mentioning the representatives who repeatedly come to the players for business, indirectly growing the field of corruption, Mr. Singh said, “They (those making approaches) throng around the hotel, keep sitting in the hotel lobby, come as sponsors asking players to become brand ambassadors, which is basically a cover (for corrupt activity), so that sort of a thing would be avoided this time.”
As social media is ruling the world, especially given the current situation, the head of ACU said that it is possible for the people to approach the cricketers through social media as the change of venue has made it difficult for them to meet the players in person. “Instead of person-to-person communication or direct face-to-face communication, there could be communicated through social media. If somebody approaches me on Facebook and then it starts as an innocent post coming from a fan, ultimately if you find that there is some possibility of being able to compromise the person you might make an attempt. So we have to continue with the (anti-corruption) education,” he said.
Referring to the betting scenario, Singh said that sources will have to be kept on alert to notify the authorities of any suspicious activity, “We would be monitoring the betting market, how the betting market is going, does it give suspicious trends. And one has to keep the informers active and then also monitor social media.”
