MUMBAI: Even as fixing clouds hover over domestic T20 leagues, BCCI is exploring the possibility of allowing outstation players in these tournaments. A proposal in this regard was tabled at the AGM and although BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said he is concerned about the recent developments in Karnataka Premier League, he stated that the board can’t stop tournaments on the basis of such incidents.
Over the last couple of months, KPL has been hit by fixing allegations and notable players such as CM Gautam have been arrested. Even the Tamil Nadu Premier League has conducted an internal inquiry after a couple of players were approached for fixing. Ganguly also revealed that another domestic player was approached by a bookie during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and it was brought to the attention of the anti-corruption unit.
“Yes, we have dealt with it,” Ganguly said when asked if the BCCI has taken cognizance of the KPL and TNPL incidents. “We’ve spoken to the respective states. The KPL is on hold now, till all this gets cleared. There is one in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Saurashtra and Mumbai. For Saurashtra and Mumbai, there has been no complaints, but in Chennai (TNPL) there have been a few complaints. We will deal with it. It’s hard to stop tournaments on the basis of who gets approached, even in the Syed Mushtaq, I was told that one player was approached. That’s not the problem, that’s not wrong. What is wrong is what happens after they get approached and it’s hard to stop tournaments, because somebody is just approached.”
In the past, the BCCI’s anti-corruption unit had identified such leagues as vulnerable, as there are many nondescript players involved. However, the report didn’t create any ripple in the BCCI corridors. Pointing out that shutting down such tournaments isn’t ideal, Ganguly said, “We’ve to get anti-corruption system right. The states have brought to our notice that we need to get anti-corruption right. Nobody wants this, it doesn’t help anyone. Try and put best anti-corruption in place, try and make it even stronger and assess it. If it doesn’t work, we will have to think of something else.”
While low pay in domestic cricket is often cited as a reason why players fall in the fixing trap, Ganguly hoped the contract system that will come into place will be benefit everybody. Though he didn’t mention the revised pay, he said it will be finalised in a month. “The contracts will be offered through the state associations. They own the players,” he said when asked if the BCCI will hand out the contracts.