Keeping tabs on IPL ACU operations in UAE will be 'slightly easier': Ajit Singh

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 heading to the UAE, moving players for the tournament would be tough task for the organisers but for BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit head Ajit Singh, the move to conduct the IPL in the UAE will make monitoring the event “slightly easier” as it would be restricted to just three venues. 

IPL 2020 is set to start in the UAE from September 19 with the final slated to be played on November 8. However, only three stadiums in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi will host the 60 games over the period of 51 days.

"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 decided the workforce," Singh told PTI during an interaction. The UAE, in 2014, hosted the first part of IPL due to general elections in India.

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Singh said currently, there are "eight ACU officers who are on BCCI payrolls".

However, monitoring all the 60 matches as well as keeping an eye on hotels will depend on the kind of bio-secure bubble created for the tournament, Singh reckoned. 

"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," Singh said.

"In case, we need men, we will hire them," he added.

The BCCI can even ask for help from the ICC, which is headquartered in Dubai, given the global body’s huge team of ACU officials. 

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"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," the senior official told PTI.

The BCCI might need some more workforce considering that each team will have one dedicated 'Integrity Officer' as per rules.

"It is the BCCI that will designate one Integrity officer per team during the course of the IPL. Now whether they will be a part of the bio-bubble (if created), we don't know, but the Integrity officer is completely their domain," a senior franchise official clarified the rules.

The UAE is known to being a hot bed for bookies and fixers but the ACU head is confident that intelligence gathering won’t be affected by the shift of tournament. 

"Whoever is involved (bookies/fixers) they are all inter-connected. If we have our sources here, they also know how these bookies operate.

"If they get an information of this place, they will get an information of that place also. It's not so much of an issue," he said.