IPL 2020: Player informs ACU after suspicious approach

IPL 2020: Player informs ACU after suspicious approach

An Indian Premier League player has reported a suspicious approach by a person known to him. The player when asked to divulge team-information through social media on Friday informed the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit official in UAE.

The ACU chief Ajit Singh Shekhawat confirmed the development to The Indian Express though he didn’t divulge the player’s franchise. He said it could be related to betting and said that the ACU will record the player’s statement soon. “The player knows the person, and the good part is that the player still came forward to inform us that a known person has contacted him to get some information. Probably, the person wanted to place bets,” Shekhawat told this newspaper.

The ACU chief said they will record the statement and start their investigation. “It (approach) was done through social media. There was some person whom he (player) knew. He asked for some information and the player immediately said no. The player found it suspicious and informed this to the team management. We were then informed about it. We will investigate it as we have received the complaint,” Shekhawat said.

As per procedure, the board ACU has asked the player to submit all proofs and furnish details of the accused person.

The ACU wing had conducted online seminars for the player and officials before the tournament started the pre-IPL seminar. They were told that action would be taken against them if they didn’t report any suspicious activity to the ACU. The three teams of anti-corruption officials are stationed at Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

Prior to the start of the tournament, the ACU had spoken about the possible attempts through online. “The other part is social media etc. through which people try to make contact and communicate, that we’ll have to take care of,” Shekhawat had told Reuters in August. “People do try to make innocent contacts also. But under the garb of friendship or as a fan, there could be an odd chap trying to explore things. Monitoring social media does not require much manpower. We’ll be taking help from professionals also.”

The IPL was hit by spot-fixing scandal in 2013, which led to two-year suspensions for the Chennai and Rajasthan franchises. It triggered the involvement of the Supreme Court of the country which ordered reforms in the BCCI.