Cricket commentators said Tuesday that "plans to jam mobile phones during matches and ban cheerleaders from the sidelines are unlikely to cure Indian cricket of the scourge of corruption," according to the AFP. Officials "announced an ambitious 12-point plan on Monday aimed at ridding the multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League tournament of illegal betting and spot-fixing scandals that have engulfed the game." Although some of the measures planned for future editions of the Twenty20 tournament "were applauded by commentators, others were described as irrelevant or difficult to enforce." Analyst Prem Panicker said, "Having cheerleaders on a makeshift podium during the game or banning players from attending after-match parties is hardly the cause of the IPL's problems." Another measure says IPL franchises "need to disclose details of their players' and support staffs' contractual obligations and remunerations -- to try to avoid any conflicts of interest." Panicker said, "These are easily achieved objectives and the board should have been doing this from the start." But Panicker "was among those sceptical" of whether India's authorities would support the Board of Control for Cricket in India's idea to disrupt mobile phone signals. He said, "This will not only affect the fans but also those who live around the stadium. Such steps require the approval of telecom companies, multiple security agencies and the government (also) has to be on-board." Commentator Sharda Ugra said that "the new plan should include greater transparency within the BCCI." He said, "The clean-up drive does not address the crux of the real problem... the most disturbing fact is that the BCCI is run like a closed shop." Former Indian all rounder and coach Madan Lal said the measures are "not a foolproof plan but the board is at least showing signs that it has learnt from its mistakes" (AFP, 6/11). The DECCAN HERALD reported Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's "alleged conflict of interest situation has not gone down well with the BCCI with its new treasurer Ravi Savant saying that he should immediately disassociate himself from the company" (DECCAN HERALD, 6/11).
