A Ranji Trophy-capped Tamil Nadu cricketer has been fined ₹1 lakh by the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Safety Unit (ACSU) and barred from the Tamil Nadu Premier League after a cell phone was discovered contained in the Gamers and Match Officers Space (PMOA), a restricted zone ruled by strict anti-corruption protocols.
The identification of the all-rounder has not been made public within the accessible data. The ACSU is known to have reported the violation to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Affiliation (TNCA), which organises the TNPL, following which disciplinary motion was taken in opposition to the participant.
The incident constitutes a breach of the BCCI‘s guidelines governing communication units inside restricted match areas. Gamers, members of assist employees and different authorised personnel are usually not permitted to hold cell phones and comparable communication units into the PMOA.
Underneath the protocols, cell phones and smartwatches are required to be switched off and handed over to the designated safety personnel earlier than a person enters the restricted space.
There isn’t any suggestion at this stage that the participant was concerned in match-fixing, betting or communication with a bookmaker. The reported offence issues the presence of the cell phone contained in the restricted space itself.
“The TNCA won’t title the participant as investigation is ongoing. All I can affirm is he’s a left hander who scored two fifties for Tamil Nadu in final 12 months’s Ranji Trophy. He was discovered texting his girlfriend in the course of the course of a match. Whereas no corruption prices has been levelled, utilizing cell phone in PMOA throughout course of a match is prohibited. Therefore it is a protocol breach,” a senior TNCA official informed PTI on Friday.
Additionally it is unclear whether or not the participant was utilizing the gadget when the violation was detected or whether or not the cellphone was merely present in his possession. Particulars concerning the circumstances by which the gadget was found, the participant’s rationalization to the ACSU and the precise size of his TNPL ban have additionally not emerged.
BCCI sustaining strict watch over communication units
The ₹1 lakh wonderful follows one other communication-device violation in the course of the 2026 Indian Premier League.
Rajasthan Royals group supervisor Ravinder Singh ‘Romi’ Bhinder was fined the identical quantity earlier this 12 months after being seen utilizing a cell phone within the dugout throughout an IPL match in opposition to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Guwahati.
Bhinder was issued a discover beneath the BCCI’s PMOA protocols and was subsequently fined ₹1 lakh and warned after his rationalization was discovered unsatisfactory. The TNPL case seems to hold a further consequence, with the Tamil Nadu participant additionally being barred from the competitors.
The BCCI’s ACSU has tightened its scrutiny of digital units in latest months as know-how able to transmitting data turns into more and more subtle.
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Earlier this 12 months, the unit additionally warned gamers and assist employees in opposition to taking sensible glasses or sensible goggles into restricted areas. Such units can doubtlessly document, livestream or transmit audio, video and messages, putting them in the identical broad class as cell phones and smartwatches beneath anti-corruption safeguards.
The rules are designed to stop unauthorised communication between individuals contained in the group surroundings and people outdoors it throughout matches.
The most recent incident comes in the course of the ongoing 2026 TNPL, which started earlier this month and is scheduled to run till August 28.
