Mumbai: Investigations are underway to determine if Rajasthan Royals manager Romi Bhinder was in the wrong for using a mobile phone in the team dugout during RR’s match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 10 in Guwahati.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Anti-corruption unit (ACSU) have issued a show-cause notice to Bhinder on Sunday seeking a reply in 48 hours,” a BCCI official said.
Players and team officials are restricted from using mobile phones in Players and Match Officials Areas (PMOA) to prevent any potentially corrupt transfer of information. Teams can use walkie-talkie devices to communicate between the dressing room and dugout in certain situations.
The PMOA protocols allow the manager to use mobile phones in the dressing room but not the dugout.
It is learnt, though, that Bhinder sought prior permission from the ACU before the tournament regarding mobile use due to a medical condition that led to his hospitalization for three weeks before the IPL. A mobile phone still cannot be used for making or receiving calls in the dugout area where anyone from the squad of 16 and coaching staff sits during the match.
Even with Bhinder’s medical condition and prior communication, the ACSU will investigate the circumstances in which the manager used the mobile. HT understands that at the time Bhinder was captured using the mobile phone in a live broadcast, there was a logistical matter regarding sponsorship placement in the dugout. He may be attending to that. The veracity of those details will be investigated based on his mobile records.
Bhinder has been working with RR for a decade and a half in various roles and would be categorized as someone well-versed with the PMOA protocols.
“We need to thoroughly examine where exactly the event happened and whether the phone was used. We will conduct an internal examination before reaching a logical conclusion,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told the media on Sunday.
