Anti-Graft Unit of BCCI For Crackdown On Corruption in Mini IPLs

The Anti-Graft Unit of the BCCI wants a crackdown on the several T20 leagues mushrooming all over India under different state associations. Teams are popping up year after year without any business model in place with owners with no clear source of income buying several teams in different leagues all over the country. Chargesheets have already been filed against some of the owners, players and coaches for spot-fixing and the scenario is only getting murkier.

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Anti Corruption Unit chief, Ajit Singh has discussed the matter with BCCI officials and wants a solution to the rising corruption in these leagues - the maximum number of which exist in Mumbai, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. One of the possible solutions being contemplated is to end private ownership and give the same to the state associations.

"A final call on the future of T20 leagues in states will be taken soon,” a senior BCCI official said.

Apart from the three big states, these leagues are being run by the Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and Saurashtra cricket associations. “We don’t know the background of most of the team owners, where they are getting so much money from to buy these teams, and how are they managing to run their teams,” an official added.

“One owner, in the T20 Mumbai League, where the base price for buying a team is Rs 3 crore, has bought a team each in two leagues. Not much is known about his financial background. Where is the money coming from to buy two teams? It does not make business sense,” stated the official.

Anti-corruption officials also questioned another team owner in the T20 Mumbai League after a player reported that he had been approached to fix a match.

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The Karnataka Premier League is already under scrutiny by the Bangalore Police. They filed chargesheets against 16 people, including five players and two team owners for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing in 2019. The Karnataka State Cricket Association suspended the players and a coach.

The police also conducted raids at the house of a state association official. A prominent IPL and Ranji Trophy coach who were also part of the Tamil Nadu Premier League were investigated by the ACU the same year.

“The state associations have no control over these leagues. Some associations have given the rights to a third party to run the league. In such a case, what is the role of the association? Who has checked the credentials of team owners? Why is a team owner ready to pay Rs 2-3 crore or even more when there is no guarantee of a good return? If he is ready to invest white money, how does the owner recover it?” quoted Ratnakar Shetty, former BCCI Joint Secretary.

"Several people were arrested back then. My suggestion is that let the associations run leagues without a private franchisee. In such a case, the state association can have control over the league with checks and balances,” he added.​

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