BCCI approaches Maharashtra government to tackle corruption

The BCCI has submitted a written request to the Maharashtra government to create a sports integrity Intelligence Gathering Unit (IGU) that will see the board and the Maharashtra Police come together to tackle corruption in Indian cricket.

The IGU, which will operate out of Mumbai, will be the first instance of the BCCI tying up with the security agency of a state to counter corruption, and might empower the ICC to adopt similar measures with Shashank Manohar having recently taken over as its chairman.

According to the Times of India, Manohar submitted a request to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis following their meeting last week to discuss the issue, which elicited a positive response from Fadnavis. The BCCI was open to part-funding the creation and administration of the IGU, which is expected to be operational within two months. The IGU will work in coordination with the BCCI, and share information it collects on cases pertaining to corruption with security agencies of other states to facilitate preventive steps.

Manohar has been a staunch advocate of a system to eradicate spot and match-fixing, and had mentioned it as one of his "commitments" when he took over as BCCI president in October. He has also often bemoaned the lack of investigative powers at the disposal of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

"The ICC and BCCI are educating the players at every level [about corruption]," Manohar told The Hindu recently. "There is one difficulty in that the ACSU does not have the investigative powers which are with the police authorities. That's the reason we have to take the help of the investigative agency to curb this menace.

"I have approached the state (Maharashtra) government, not the central government. The Mumbai Police has all the powers. What we want basically is intelligence input from the government. If the investigating agency shares information with the board, that would solve most of our problems."