The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sought security clearance since some foreign players and staff belong to or have links with countries of concern such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While Pakistan players do not have permission to participate in the IPL, players, staff and coaches with Pakistan origin are on the rolls of some IPL teams.
The home ministry, along with states that host the matches, will also assess the requirement of central armed police forces for the security of the venues, the officials said.
The home ministry is responsible for vetting the names of participants with help from security agencies, while the political clearance is given by the Ministry of External Affairs. Following the 2020 border standoff in eastern Ladakh, Chinese nationals and associated entities have come under the scanner along with “countries of concern”: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and North Korea.
“The objective of the security clearance is to evaluate potential threats, visible or embedded, by the home ministry and to provide a risk assessment and whether the foreign national is not a persona non grata,” explained an official.
Another senior government official told ET: “The clearance for foreign players, coaches and support staff for men’s and women’s IPL was sought this month (January).It is under verification and will be cleared very soon. We are taking input from all agencies concerned.”
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