IPL 2020 | It will be easier for us to deploy ACU officials in UAE, reveals Ajit Singh
BCCI ACU chief Ajit Singh has stated that given there will be only three venues involved in the 13th edition of the IPL, the pressure on the ACU will be far lesser. A senior BCCI official has also added that the board will approach the ICC to appoint additional extra Anti-Corruption officials.
The challenges of doing proper Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) during the summer IPL season has been pretty vast which was documented from the past experiences when the bookies managed to overcome the barrier to reach the players. While some have reported, some haven’t, which manifolded the task at hand for the ACU officials.
This season, however, the challenge will be far lesser considering most players will be staying in close premises and the bio-secure bubble means they will not be allowed to sneak past to meet any suspected individuals. Talking about it, BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit head Ajit Singh stated that they will take a call on the number of staffs to be employed once things become official.
"In the UAE, it will be slightly easier doing (monitoring ACU activity) as there are only three grounds compared to eight venues in India. That's not an issue at all. Once the schedule comes, we will decide the workforce," Singh told PTI during an interaction.
"It's too early to comment on measures as we need to first check what kind of bio-security measures will be created. We first need to see how things are taking shape there and we will deploy our men accordingly. In case, we need men, we will hire them," he added.
Considering the fact that the ICC have their own facility in Dubai, the BCCI might approach the international body to send in their own staff for the ACU thing in the IPL and the same can be compensated by the board itself.
"If it is a private league that approaches ICC for hiring ACU officers and they agree to cover the event, then the league organisers bear the costs," a senior BCCI official told PTI.