The IPL 2026 season will be remembered not only for the cricket on the field, but also for the BCCI’s reported crackdown on the growing reel culture surrounding the tournament. From players and family members to match officials and broadcasters, social media content became a major talking point this season. Reports suggested that a commentator was stopped from filming near a team dugout, a player was advised to reduce his social media output, and an advisory was issued amid concerns over possible “honey trap” risks.

Even so, the BCCI is not against players using social media altogether. Board secretary Devajit Saikia made it clear that cricket must evolve with changing times, but he also stressed that content creation cannot come at the cost of protocol and privacy. Speaking to *Hindustan Times*, Saikia said the game has entered a new era where social media is part of the landscape, but boundaries still matter.

“Personally, I’m not bothered because you have to go with the technology and the things that are becoming popular on various platforms over time,” Devajit Saikia said. “Nobody thought about social media or any of these things when IPL started in 2008 or thereafter for the next 12-13 years. But now this is the trend.”

WATCH – Andy Flower Becomes Target Of Tim David and Phil Salt’s Viral Celebration

He added that the board’s concern is not with creativity, but with unauthorized access and interference. “So we have to adjust ourselves to the trend. But that does not allow anyone to intrude into team meetings or team activities, or onto buses or into areas where other unauthorised persons are not supposed to enter,” he said.

Saikia also clarified that the BCCI’s main aim is to ensure social media activity stays within IPL rules and security protocols.

“We are just ensuring that social media do not cross the line, which is where they are not allowed to travel. So that is the only thing we are concerned about. Those things will definitely grow, but they must follow the IPL protocols,” he added.

ALSO READ: Stuart Broad Makes Bold Virat Kohli Claim, Brings Up Rory McIlroy Example

According to Saikia, the advisory was issued as a preventive step after the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit flagged several minor issues that could have grown into larger problems later. “When our anti-corruption team found many small issues that could have blown into a major controversy later, they said we had to do something at the very beginning,” he said. “We have to nip it in the bud.”