The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council Chairman Arun Dhumal and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia's “honey-trap” remark led fans to start making their own theories online.
Recently, rhe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had sent a strong message to all IPL franchises and asked them to remain alert and maintain strict discipline throughout the season.
When BCCI warned teams over misconduct and protocol violations during IPL 2026
Devajit Saikia had informed the franchises that certain incidents of misconduct and protocol violation have occurred involving players, support staff, and team officials during the course of the ongoing season that had come to the board’s notice.
The BCCI made it clear that even small mistakes could badly damage the image of the IPL, franchises, and the board itself. The latter added, “They may further expose individuals and franchises to legal liability and security risks of a serious nature.”
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal clears air on “honey-trap” buzz
However, IPL governing council chairman Arun Dhumal clarified that no issue related to a "honey trap" had surfaced in this edition of the IPL. He stressed that the tournament has remained clean and no such specific incident had been reported within teams.
Arun Dhumal was quoted as saying by Times of India, "There has been no issue as such with regard to honey-trapping or things like that, to my knowledge. This is a very clean tournament. Yes, there have been some issues. For example, the Riyan Parag [vaping] incident, which we could have avoided. Barring that, I don't think there was any such incident.”
Arun Dhumal refuses to comment on Devajit Saikia’s "honey-trap" remark; calls IPL 2026 phenomenal
The IPL chairman also avoided making any comment on Devajit Saikia’s "honey-trap" statement and said he was not aware of any such specific issue linked to players or franchises.
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Dhumal added, “I am not privy to any such information either. He would be the best person to comment on that. But nothing of the sort has happened in this edition, as far as my understanding and knowledge go. I haven't heard his comment, so I would not want to comment on that.”
He also hailed the ongoing IPL 2026 season as "phenomenal." The chairman signed off by saying, “It's been a phenomenal season this year. Like all the previous editions, till the last day of the league stage, we did not know which would be the fourth team to qualify. That is the excitement around the IPL every season. The quality of games that we have had so far has been phenomenal.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s brutal 97 powers Rajasthan Royals into IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 after SRH demolition
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals produced a stunning performance to knock Sunrisers Hyderabad out of IPL 2026 with a massive 47-run win in the Eliminator at New Chandigarh on Wednesday, May 27.
Teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi completely destroyed the SRH bowling attack with a breathtaking 97 off just 29 balls. The young batter smashed 12 huge sixes and five boundaries during his blistering knock that helped RR to post a massive 243/8 on the board in the Eliminator.
Chasing the mammoth target, Sunrisers Hyderabad collapsed early after Jofra Archer ripped through the top order with three wickets inside the powerplay. SRH were left struggling at 57/4 and never recovered from the early damage, and they eventually bowled out for 196.
With this huge victory, Rajasthan Royals have now moved to Qualifier 2, where they will face Gujarat Titans on Friday, May 29. The winner of the Qualifier 2 clash will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2026 final on Sunday, May 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
