The Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will enter its 50th match tonight. Before the match, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devjit Saikia will issue a stern notice to the owners and the opposition against the “girlfriend culture” in Indian cricket. Girlfriends of many cricketers are often seen hanging out with the team.
Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan have been spotted with their girlfriends, traveling with the team and staying in hotels during the IPL, and there are also owners like Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka, who looks most animated when his franchise plays and even enters restricted areas. Due to this, BCCI is preparing to implement new strict rules.
BCCI and IPL are preparing an advisory – BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia
BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia says, “I would like to announce one more thing. This time, we have noticed several anomalies and irregularities in the actions of some franchises as well as some players. Therefore, BCCI and IPL are preparing an advisory, which we are going to issue this evening. We have noticed that many unauthorized persons are roaming with the team members or traveling in the team buses.”
Guwahati, Assam: BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia says, “I would like to announce one more thing. This time, we have noticed several anomalies and irregularities in the actions of some franchises as well as some players. Therefore, the BCCI and IPL are formulating an advisory, which… PIC.TeawITeaTeaER.Cheym/ISSOfChS7EC
– IANS (@ians_india) mAthis 7, 2026
“Some unauthorized persons are also entering hotels and going into players’ rooms or team officials’ rooms, which is completely against our anti-corruption protocols. We have also observed that some team owners and officials are meeting with players in areas where they are not allowed to be present.”
BCCI and IPL have no problem with families staying in hotels
Earlier, it was reported that there is no problem in wives and family members staying in the hotel with the players, but it was also said that strict measures may need to be taken regarding girlfriends.
Some players’ girlfriends are influential on social media, increasing the possibility of team knowledge being breached. Many influential people have previously supported betting or gambling systems, which has led to integrity issues in IPL matches. Sometimes girlfriends travel separately to meet players, increasing the risk of important team information being revealed.
Players only have officially announced girlfriends to live with
Past incidents, such as Rajasthan Royals staff violations and player misconduct, have increased the need to control access to restricted areas. The BCCI official expressed surprise after talking to the Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) official about the current arrangement of the hotel. The ACU official claimed that he was asked to allow wives and “officially declared girlfriends” to live together.
Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh are struggling with form and are under the scanner for their lavish personal lifestyles outside cricket. Earlier, after Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir lost the Test series in Australia, new rules were implemented, because wives and children of cricketers can stay for two weeks on foreign tours of more than 45 days. It will be interesting to see what rules and implications BCCI will introduce before the IPL ends on May 31.
Also read: England surprised the cricket world by appointing Australian Marcus North as the new national selector.
