BCCI's ACU head confident of Indian players tackling corrupt approaches during lockdown

The ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic has led to the stoppage of all cricket for more than a month now. As players go into unplanned rest inside their homes, they have been more active on social media than ever. This also means that the players remain susceptible to corrupt approaches by criminals, who could pose as fans. This could be potentially risky for cricket not just in India, but around the world. The IPL, which has now been postponed until further notice, has been marred in the past with alleged incidents of spot-fixing.

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BCCI ACU chief confident of Indian players' ethical orientation ahead of IPL

BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ajit Singh recently talked to PTI about the possibilities of players being at the receiving end of corrupt approaches during the India lockdown. A confident Singh proclaimed that the BCCI is not too worried about the players getting influenced by such people. He mentioned how the players have already been trained about the various methods that bookies and their associates use to approach them on social media. “They will try and behave like a fan and then try to meet you through someone who may be your acquaintance," BCCI's ACU chief said.

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The BCCI's ACU chief then went on to reveal that the players have been very co-operative with the BCCI during his stint. He also explained that the Anti-Corruption Unit is not against the players but is only a team that works against those who try to corrupt the game. The players and the ACU need to act like a team in the end.

Singh also explained both current and former players are at the end of such advances and it is usually one person or his circle which tries to physically meet the player and also interact with them online. Singh also explained how the BCCI ACU keeps track of all the advances that players report and IDs and physical locations are verified by the team (physical verification, however, can not be done during India lockdown). "Any information is useful. Even if it’s a false alarm, it raises the awareness level of the players as well as the skills of the team investigating it.", Singh added.

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India lockdown: Coronavirus leads to IPL 2020 suspension

The IPL 2020 was supposed to begin on March 29 but the novel coronavirus pandemic forced an India lockdown. As a result, the BCCI has had the IPL 2020 postponed subject to further notice. The tournament was suspended in March when the coronavirus was only starting to look like a potential threat to India. Last week, after PM Narendra Modi announced the extension of the India lockdown, the BCCI too pushed back the IPL without any potential dates for starting.

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