IPL tournament to start to in UAE and cricket sponsors Sahara Group in corruption case

IPL 2014 to start in the United Arab Emirates, Sharjah’s and Dubai’s match-fixing history raise concerns

After deciding to move the Indian Premier League (IPL) out of India, due to inadequate security provisions with the security forces being deployed for the upcoming election, the BCCI had to decide between South Africa, Bangladesh, or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host IPL 2014.

According to the IPL’s media release from March 12, 2014, the BCCI decided that the first part of IPL 2014 competition, April 16 to April 30, involving at least 16 matches, will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The BCCI has yet to receive a final decision about matches between May 1 to May 12, which may be played in India or Bangladesh. All IPL matches scheduled after May 13, 2014 will be played in India, as the election will have concluded by then.

A NDTV Sports article explained that there are concerns about the BCCI choosing the UAE to host IPL 2014 because of the “tainted” cricket corruption history in Sharjah and Dubai, two of the cities where IPL 2014 will be played this year. After the match-fixing case in Sharjah and Dubai in 2000, India “blacklisted Sharjah as a cricket destination” and has not played in Sharjah since October 2000. Sharjah and Dubai have remained “successful cricket destinations” as the International Cricket Council (ICC) is based in Dubai, and the UAE recently hosted the World Twenty20 Qualifiers, among other major cricket tournaments. However, the ICC’s anti-corruption team intends to work closely with the BCCI, focusing all efforts towards organizing a “clean and fair” tournament in the UAE this year. BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit is learning from India’s recent sports scandals and has taken “a few precautionary measures to make it tougher to repeat what happened last year,” explained BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit chief, Ravi Sawani. See the Mudgal Committee Report on IPL 2013, ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) report, and his report, on the IPL 2013’s spot-fixing case that led to multiple players facing life bans, and being arrested or suspended for their actions in last year’s IPL.