BCCI’s anti corruption unit helpless due to board’s ignorance

The sting operation of the curator of the Stadium in Pune, Pandurang Salgaonkar shocked everyone including BCCI ahead of the second ODI on Wednesday. But it seems that it was the accident waiting to happen. The shocking revelations made during the operation by the curator is a huge embarrassment for the anti-corruption system set up by the Indian board. The anti-corruption unit has been helpless and is under-staffed due to the clear ignorance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Although the board right away suspended Salgaonkar and assured the right steps to be taken to avoid such things in future, many were questioning the system in the first place. Despite all the off-field happenings, the match underwent smoothly without any hindrances. India won the match by 6 wickets and the pitch was not as good for batting as curator had mentioned in the video which went viral on the morning of the game. Both the teams had to be cautious of the slowness of the wicket and the hosts were better on the given day.

Need to upgrade the system

The chief of BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), Neeraj Kumar had already written to the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) regarding the need to upgrade the existing system. But the ignorance of BCCI on the issue made him helpless as he doesn’t have a free hand to act. The main problem in the current ACSU team is it comprises of only three people and it needs more people to act on such things.

“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 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 Times of India. He also cleared that the people who are nominated by State associations to patrol the domestic and international matches are random and there no qualification tests.

“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,” he added.