The Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season is in its business end as franchises prepare for the Playoffs. However, it was last week when franchises received clear directives from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reduce IPL collaborations. So, was it something to do with the players and their addiction to social media, or a case of a honeytrap, as speculated, or was it the growing presence of influencers within the team space?
Last week, the BCCI intensified its anti-corruption vigilance during IPL 2026, widening its focus beyond players and team officials to include family members, broadcasters and social media content creators operating around franchises.
🚨 Got this bit of tea from someone reliable :
It was never actually a cricketer’s girlfriend who leaked the dressing room info.
A young Indian player was asked by his franchise to take part in an IPL promotional event where he met a famous Instagram influencer. They instantly… pic.twitter.com/R1THjQdXcs
— ` (@worshipVK) May 11, 2026
Not girlfriends but influencers?
According to a report, a young Indian player was asked by his franchise to take part in an IPL promotional event where he met a famous Instagram influencer. They instantly clicked. He later invited her to meet again and after a few weeks she travelled to see him. The cricketer took her straight to the team hotel. The next morning, he reportedly got into a heated argument with a staff member over privacy concerns after questions were raised about the staff member’s presence there.
Over time, he casually shared a lot of inside info with her, like which youngster was debuting next game, who was getting dropped, team combinations, injury updates, everything. The influencer quietly passed these details to bookies. By the time BCCI figured out what was happening, the damage had already been done.
What was the BCCI directive?
“There have been a few breaches by a few commentators. One former international cricketer was found making videos on his phone near the dugout in a tense situation of a match. The BCCI team acted swiftly and got him to stop the recording. There could be a case of sending legal notices to an ex-cricketer who was found filming for his YouTube channel. The board has clearly mentioned that anybody wearing BCCI and IPL official attire can’t be seen filming at the ground,” BCCI sources told a news media outlet.
After the incident, the family members of players have reportedly been advised against posting pictures or videos during the tournament, while franchises are also under watch for allowing social media creators unrestricted access within team environments.
Despite this, there is also fear that the new crop of cricketers are getting too obsessed with putting out a lot of content on social media. An Indian cricketer has already been told to curb his habit of posting content on his team’s travel and other whereabouts.
