Romi Bhinder Caught Using Phone in Dugout — Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2026

The PMOA Protocols govern who can be in player and match officials' areas — dressing rooms, dugouts, the field of play, and adjacent corridors — and what they can do there. The phone-in-dugout prohibition is one of the cleanest anti-corruption rules in modern cricket administration. Phones in dressing rooms are permitted because the dressing room is a controlled, observable space; phones in dugouts are prohibited because the dugout has direct line-of-sight to the field and live information could be transmitted to external parties in real time. The risk is not that team managers are routinely corrupt; it is that the protocol must be cleanly enforceable to be credible.

The protocol has been tested before. Past incidents involving support staff using phones in restricted areas have generally drawn fines and warnings rather than bans, on the basis that the rule is procedural and the actual transmission of match-fixing information is rare and difficult to prove. The ACSU's standard approach is to treat first offences as breaches of conduct unless there is evidence of actual transmission of match-related information for corrupt purposes.

The presence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the frame added a particular sensitivity to the case. Sooryavanshi, fifteen years old and one of the most-discussed cricketers in the world following his record-breaking IPL century, is the kind of young player anti-corruption protocols are most carefully designed to protect. The optics of him sitting beside an adult breaking those protocols were uncomfortable for the franchise even before any formal investigation.

Rajasthan Royals had travelled to Guwahati for their match against RCB. The franchise has used Guwahati as a secondary home venue in recent IPL seasons. Bhinder, a senior member of the RR support staff who has been with the franchise in various roles since the inaugural 2008 season, was performing his usual matchday duties, seated in the dugout among the players and the immediate coaching staff.

The match itself was unremarkable for the first half. Sometime during the first innings, broadcast cameras tracking the dugout for a routine cutaway captured Bhinder with his phone in his hand, looking at the screen. The footage was brief but clear. Within minutes, social media users had identified the location (the dugout, not the dressing room), the person (Bhinder), and the rule (PMOA 4.1.1). By the end of the innings, mainstream cricket media had picked up the story.

The footage, which spread within hours of broadcast, showed Bhinder seated in the RR dugout next to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — the fifteen-year-old batting prodigy who had become the youngest centurion in IPL history during RR's previous match — and using a mobile phone for several seconds while play continued. The IPL's PMOA Protocols, Article 4.1.1, are explicit: "The team manager may use a phone in the dressing room but NOT in the dugout." The rule is part of a broader anti-corruption regime designed to prevent the live transmission of match information out of restricted areas to external parties.

The BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, briefed by match officials and using the broadcast footage, issued a show-cause notice to Bhinder within 48 hours of the match. The notice required him to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken under the relevant codes, with potential sanctions including a match ban, a financial penalty, or in severe cases referral for further investigation.

Bhinder's response — provided through Rajasthan Royals' management — cited a documented medical condition requiring intermittent contact with a treating physician. The ACSU accepted the explanation, treating the breach as procedural rather than corrupt-intent, and on 17 April 2026 announced a fine of ₹1 lakh and a formal warning. Considering it a first offence with credible mitigation, no suspension was imposed.

“The team manager may use a phone in the dressing room but NOT in the dugout.”

“There was no discussion about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He is a kid, and perhaps the franchise can explain the rules better to him. There is no point in intimidating a youngster.”

“The ACSU accepted the medical explanation. A fine and a formal warning are appropriate for a first offence.”

The fine was minor in financial terms but the formal warning carries weight: a second offence by Bhinder, even on different grounds, would now attract a markedly heavier sanction. Rajasthan Royals issued a brief statement accepting the BCCI's decision and confirming that internal protocols around dugout phone use would be reinforced for all support staff. The franchise was not itself sanctioned, though some commentators argued that ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance rests with the team rather than the individual.

The decision not to act against Sooryavanshi drew measured praise from former players, who agreed that a fifteen-year-old should not be expected to police the conduct of senior support staff. Several commentators called for the BCCI to mandate that all teams provide a documented anti-corruption induction for under-eighteen players signing IPL contracts, beyond the standard ACSU briefing every IPL contractee already receives.

The episode arrived against the backdrop of a broader anti-corruption season for the BCCI. ACSU has investigated multiple smaller breaches of PMOA protocols across IPL 2026 — including unauthorised individuals in restricted areas at two matches earlier in the season — and the Bhinder case has been read as part of a more visible enforcement posture. Whether that posture continues into the playoffs and the post-season will be the more interesting test.