The BCCI has moved to clarify its position on the growing volume of social media content surrounding the IPL, stressing that recent advisories were introduced to protect the tournament’s operating framework rather than suppress digital engagement. Speaking to Hindustan Times, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia said the board’s primary concern is ensuring that evolving content trends do not create security, integrity or access-related issues during the competition.
The discussion follows heightened scrutiny around social media activity during IPL 2026, including reports involving players, broadcasters, officials and individuals connected to franchises. As previously reported by cricexec, the BCCI issued an advisory during the tournament covering protocol compliance, anti-corruption measures, hotel access controls and other safeguards designed to reduce potential risks.
Why the BCCI stepped in
Explaining the thinking behind those measures, Saikia told Hindustan Times, “When our anti-corruption team found many small issues that could have blown into a major controversy later, they said we had to do something at the very beginning. We have to nip it in the bud. Therefore, once we received the status or brief report on the various violations of the IPL protocols, we issued advisories to ensure and pre-empt any foul play in the IPL movement.”
The comments provide the clearest explanation yet for the board’s intervention during the season, which generated debate across the cricket ecosystem as content creation around teams and venues continued to expand.
Addressing concerns that the board was attempting to curb social media activity, he added, “We are just ensuring that social media do not cross the line, which is where they are not allowed to travel. So that is the only thing we are concerned about. Those things will definitely grow, but they must follow the IPL protocols.”
Social media is part of the modern game
The rapid growth of short-form content has transformed the way fans interact with cricket, creating new opportunities for players, franchises and broadcasters to build audiences beyond the field of play.
Discussing that shift, Saikia said, “Personally, I’m not bothered because you have to go with the technology and the things that are becoming popular on various platforms over time.”
He also pointed to how dramatically the landscape has changed since the IPL’s launch in 2008, noting, “Nobody thought about social media or any of these things when IPL started in 2008 or thereafter for the next 12-13 years. But now this is the trend.”
Where the board draws the line
While acknowledging the role social media now plays in the sport, the BCCI remains firm on protecting areas it considers confidential or operationally sensitive.
Outlining those boundaries, Saikia said, “So we have to adjust ourselves to the trend. But that does not allow anyone to intrude into team meetings or team activities, or onto buses or into areas where other unauthorised persons are not supposed to enter.”
During IPL 2026, reports emerged of concerns around filming in restricted areas and the presence of unauthorised individuals around team environments. Saikia’s comments indicate that the board sees future growth in digital content as inevitable, but expects that growth to remain within the framework of the league’s established protocols and integrity measures.
