T HE strongly-worded advisory issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pulling up Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises for conduct and protocol violations is a necessary step to ensure discipline in the world’s biggest cricket league. IPL’s fame and the BCCI’s prestige needs to be protected by all the stakeholders and the Board has acted in time before its reputation could take a beating like it did during the dark fixing and betting scandal in the 2013 edition of the cash-rich league. Scars of the spot-fixing and betting scandal are still fresh for cricket fans. It had led to wholesale changes in the BCCI ecosystem as the Supreme Court had taken matters in its own hands and ensured revolutionary reforms in the Board’s administration.

 

The IPL had suffered a lot due to the scandals which led to suspension of two teams, life-ban of team owners and many players. Since then, the league has steadily overcome the dark chapter and has become Twenty20 cricket’s biggest thing for international and national players. Protecting its credibility has to be the BCCI’s first priority and the authorities have acted wisely by advising IPL franchises and players to manage their personal and professional conduct. The advisory is a rare move by the BCCI but it had become necessary after a few disturbing incidents recorded in the ongoing tournament. Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag was penalised after he admitted to his offence of vaping in the dressing room during the match against Punjab Kings last month. Another official was seen using his mobile phone in the dugout while some franchise owners were in direct contact with players during a live match. This was a clear breach of protocols laid down by the IPL Governing Council. Instead of showing leniency and treating the issues lightly, the BCCI has done really well to put its foot down on maintaining sanctity of the tournament.

 

The seven-page advisory has stated that the said breaches could potentially cause reputational harm to the IPL. There is no doubt about the fears expressed by the BCCI. Growing influence of social media and extraordinary rights to official broadcasters have already made sure that there is hardly any privacy left for the players. In such circumstances, even an unintentional move or gesture by a player or an official can become a potential controversy. In the age of “viral reels”, the players can become a soft target for criticism. Cumulative effect of all such incidents is reputational damage for the IPL. The IPl has grown in a huge stature and any slip-up in the form of a controversy or scandal can have a cascading effect on all stakeholders. It is imperative for the franchises to sensitise their teams and also their own officials about the protocols laid down for everybody’s benefits. There should be no grudge about the new advisory as the BCCI has already made it clear to the franchises that the reason for issuing the advisory was not to restrict them but protect all the stakeholders from risks that are real, foreseeable, and, if not mitigated, deeply damaging. It is a step taken at the right time.