After a sting operation on Pune curator Pandurang Salgaonkar, which further resulted in his suspension by the Board of Control of Cricket in India, the reports are suggesting that the chief of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of BCCI has been demanding upgrades for months.

According to reports, ACSU chief Neeraj Kumar has been writing to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Advisors (CoA) regarding the same. CoA chief Vinod Rai had expressed that there is a lack of manpower in the ACSU in response to the incident, stating that it is only constituted of three people and “they can’t be everywhere.”

A report in the Times of India quotes a top BCCI official said, “Kumar has been on the job and has shared suggestions to upgrade the system for months. The basic problem he faces is the number of qualified officials in his team. The current ACSU team comprises only three people. Kumar has repeatedly spelled out the need to hire few more people. But the board is yet to act on it. He doesn’t have a free hand to act.”

The current system sees those guarding both international and domestic matches being chosen by state associations. These candidates only go through four hours of training in a seminar held each year before being assigned to a match. Although BCCI and ICC officials do come to the venue, most of the patrolling is done by these officials which leaves a gap wide open to be utilized. The report further states that the official as saying that they are given headshots of all who can access the pitch and the dressing room areas.