What led to BCCI's IPL crackdown? Reels, late night outings and more

Bengaluru: Reels made in restricted areas, outings that did not have security approvals and players' proximity to social media influencers were some of the concerns that prompted the stern advisory from BCCI and IPL franchises are now scrambling to ensure compliance without compromising on individual privacy.

The Board's Anti-Corruption Unit flagged unauthorised guests in the hotel rooms of players, support staff and team officials and also warned of potential honey traps. As a result, the BCCI came up with an advisory that placed restrictions on the guests and made it mandatory for the players to keep security informed about their movements.

One of the major violations pointed out was the players' "excessive proximity" to influencers, who get hired for short durations to create social media content for the participating teams.

In one such incident, one of the younger players asked the newcomers in the content team to assist him with reels, videos and pictures to be used on his private social media accounts.

While it's not an uncommon practice for a player to take external help for neo-media content generation, in this particular instance, the vlogger used some of the videos and pictures on his own private account to gain traction.

The shoot happened inside the boundary line with clear visuals of the team's training and other on-field activities. It later spilled over to the player's hotel room as well.

The BCCI was not amused.

"Yes, we have received a new set of rules from the BCCI and steps are being taken to follow them with diligence. The new crop of players are so much into this social media activity. Yes, it is a modern trend, we accept it. But it has to be done within the limit set by the BCCI," a franchise official told PTI.

"...it's impossible to track each and every movement of people. It's an issue. What we are trying to do is to make the players and content teams more aware of the BCCI norms, and the consequences if they break them." A step in that direction is cutting down the size of content teams.

"We are trying to limit the number of content team members, particularly those who get hired for a fixed term like 2-3 months during an IPL season.

"Senior players will know the rules and how to follow them. But at times, cricketers coming to the IPL for the first time might not know the gravity of the situation. They will be eager to emulate the stars and get some social media likes and comments. So, we need to educate them more," the official added.

The intruders

As for unauthorised visitors in players' and support staff's rooms, the Board's concerns deepened after another player was recently found hosting a few people in his room well into the night quite often.

The BCCI ACU officer immediately summoned the team manager to enquire about the meetings, but the reply was "casual and disinterested".

The manager cited the player's seniority in the team's ranks to defend him.

"I am not surprised. At times, the players use their stature within the team to bend the rules. Once I told a player to host his friends in the lobby restaurant, not in his room.

"I told him there are some board instructions on such matters. He just snapped: 'You don't worry. I will tell the board (officials), if they ask'," said a former official, who worked for a long time in the IPL as team manager.

Another franchise official offered his view on this. "Well, I don't know about such arm-twisting (by players). But we have now given out clear instructions that a written or at least verbal permission is required to invite friends and family to the hotel where the team stays.

"I know they also need to meet family and friends. But we have told them not to entertain guests after 10 pm, and such meetings should happen in the lobby or any other public place where the team manager/officials should have ready access," the official stated.

In another instance, a player failed to return calls from a team official, who knocked on his hotel room door to pass on information.

He eventually walked into the hotel quite late at night, accompanied by a group of friends. But it was brushed under the carpet, as the player was perceived to be close to franchise's owners.

"I agree that sometimes rules are not followed in letter and spirit or sometimes some exemptions will be given to the players. Now, we are looking to put in place constant checks on the players.

"But we should also ensure that it's not an intrusion into their privacy. We will also be in talks with the BCCI as to how to implement this particular rule without any issue," the official said.