India hopefuls may have paid for code of conduct breaches

The selection committee meetings primarily focus on form, performance, and fitness while picking the players. However, off-field matters such as code of conduct breaches come into play in cases of serious and repeated violations. This aspect may well have played a role in adding a dimension to the ongoing debate surrounding the selection or non-selection of players for the West Indies tour.

According to reliable sources, at least four players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams of north have been reported to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Decision-makers within the BCCI acknowledge that these breaches have not gone unnoticed. It is worth noting that outside of the IPL, these players represent the West and North Zones in the domestic circuit.

The owner of a North franchise shed light on a few instances, revealing that a couple of his players were involved in multiple violations of the IPL player code. Consequently, he was compelled to report the matter to the BCCI. In fact, he disclosed that his players were found in violation of the code on four occasions during the recently-concluded IPL season.

Typically, the Integrity Officers assigned to franchises report on the conduct of Indian players after every game to the BCCI. In the case of this particular North franchise, both players, who are young and have achieved high scores in domestic cricket, had to be reported to the BCCI.

"When I became aware of the situation, I was deeply upset and immediately reported the matter to the BCCI. The Integrity Officer also took the breach very seriously and fulfilled his obligations," the owner of the team shared with Cricbuzz. He further confirmed that appropriate measures were taken against these players at the franchise level.

A former anti-corruption official verified that the Integrity Officer reports on the conduct of Indian players to the BCCI after every match. However, the reported breaches mainly involved disciplinary issues and curfew violations rather than corruption-related matters.

It's worth noting that some of the players reported to the BCCI are either part of India's Twenty20 squad or in contention for selection. More will be known when the Twenty20 team gets selected.