After Players Were Seen Carrying Alcohol in their Kits, the Saurashtra Cricket Association Would Look Into the Matter

The Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) on Monday instructed its ethics committee to look into reports that five of its players' kit bags contained undeclared alcohol bottles and beer tins at the Chandigarh airport last week. If the cricketers are found to have broken the SCA's code of conduct, the apex council will take some disciplinary action.

There has been an alleged incident at Chandigarh that is brought to the notice of the Saurashtra Cricket Association. The alleged incident is unfortunate and intolerable.

Ethics/Disciplinary Committee & Apex Council of Saurashtra Cricket Association to make an in-depth examination of the incident and shall take proper disciplinary action
~a release from SCA said.

Unfortunate Incident -

The action was taken four days after it was reported that five members of the SCA's Colonel CK Nayudu Under 23 trophy team had their kit bags allegedly scanned at Chandigarh airport for 27 liquor bottles and two crates of beer cans. According to sources, the beer cans and spirits bottles in the bags were not declared products.

The claimed event occurred when the SCA team gave their kit bags to the airline to be transported to Rajkot on January 24, after they had defeated the hosts Chandigarh in the four-day competition. The next day, the team took a plane to Rajkot.

SCA secretary Himanshu Shah said the ethics committee will examine the facts of the alleged incident. “We don’t have any official or authentic information as to what happened at the Chandigarh airport. Therefore, for SCA, what is being discussed in the media is like hearsay. But because the alleged incident involves our players, we have asked the committee to ascertain facts of it and report to the apex council,” the secretary told The Indian Express, adding,

“If players are found to have violated any code of conduct, appropriate action will be taken against them.”

The SCA team flew from Delhi, according to Chandigarh Union Territory Cricket Association secretary Devinder Sharma, while their kit bags were transported by air from Chandigarh airport. "Fog is causing delays for morning flights from Chandigarh. As a result, the Saurashtra squad arranged for a bus to travel from Chandigarh to Delhi and then took a plane from there. The Indian Express was informed by Sharma that "their kit bags were flown from Chandigarh airport," and that "we are reading media reports about the incident." Since Chandigarh is not a dry state, no crimes have been reported there. But such indiscipline is intolerable to both the BCCI and any cricket association.

What parents said?

Although the cricket players were unavailable to give any clearance, the father of one of the players stated that his son fulfilled the request of an experienced cricketer who represented SCA in the Ranji Trophy. One of the senior team cricket players at SCA asked my son if he would be willing to move a box for him.

My teenage son complied without realizing the potential repercussions
~the father stated

The way the incident is being projected in the media makes me suspect that it was a conspiracy to ease my son and the other four out of the team so that some other cricketers could take their place
~he added.

Players will get a chance to play in their next game -

Meanwhile, the SCA secretary said the association will give sufficient time to the players. “The players whose names are being associated with the incident are promising players. They were doing exceptionally well in the Col CK Nayudu trophy this season. Because there is no criminal offense against them, they were allowed to play in SCA’s next match which began on Sunday. Therefore, SCA will give them sufficient time to get their statements recorded,” said Shah.

According to sources, the players had not told the airline that the bottles of alcohol in their kit bags were booze.