Reports: BCCI’s anti corruption unit facing lack of trained staff

BCCI had immediately suspended Salgaoncar, who was caught in a sting operation promising to manipulate the Pune pitch that hosted the second ODI of the India-New Zealand series yesterday. He has since been barred from entering the ground and Ramesh Mamunkar, the Wankhede curator, will take over from the former Maharashtra pacer.

A TOI reports highlights why people like Salgaoncar have been skipping the radar for so long, revealing that BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit is working without proper manpower and the staff is not also well-equipped. It has also learned that ACSU chief Kumar has been writing to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators and chief executive officer for months about the need to upgrade the present scenario.

"He (Kumar) has been on the job and has shared suggestions to upgrade the system for months. The basic problem he faces is the number of qualified officials in his team. The current ACSU team comprises of only three people. Kumar has repeatedly spelt out the need to hire few more people. But the board is yet to act on it. He doesn't have a free hand to act," a top BCCI official told TOI on Wednesday.

In the current system, people are nominated by state associations patrolling domestic and international matches, which could be random choices which are also affected by the people in power in the administration for their assignments. They attend a seminar of four hours in a year before assigning matches to them and there are no qualification tests unlike those for umpires and referees. 

"There's no continuity. Each year there are a lot of new persons asked to do the job. And four hours is the only time they get to be trained. This is a glaring loophole," the source said.

BCCI ACSU officer and another officer from the ICC's ACU department do come at the venue for an international fixture a couple of days before the match. During that time, the general patrolling is done by the semi-trained officials. "These officials are given headshots of all who can access the pitch and the dressing room areas. That's about it. But these people are hardly monitored," the official informed.