Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been handed a conflict of interest notice by the Board of Cricket Control in India’s (BCCI) Ethics Officer Justice (Retd) DK Jain. The notice has been issued due to Dravid’s allegedly conflicting roles as the head of National Cricket Academy's (NCA) Cricket Operations and his position as vice-president of India Cements group, which owns Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings.
The issuing of the notice has irked another former India skipper, Sourav Ganguly who tweeted to say, “New fashion in Indian cricket… conflict of interest… Best way to remain in news… god help Indian cricket".
His sentiment was echoed by Harbhajan Singh who tweeted saying, “Sending notice to these legends is like insulting them”.
BCCI's Ombudsman-cum-Ethics Officer Justice (Retd) DK Jain sent the notice after receiving a complaint from Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta.
Dravid will likely have to file his reply by August 16 and then may also have to appear in person for a hearing.
Sanjeev Gupta has in the past filed similar conflict of interest complaints against Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman for their dual roles as Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) member as well as mentors of their respective IPL franchises – Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Both had denied any conflict with Tendulkar saying that he was not getting paid by Mumbai Indians for his services. Tendulkar had said that he wouldn’t continue without proper terms of reference, while Laxman had said that if a conflict was found, he would quit.
The third member of the CAC, Ganguly was also accused of conflict of interest for being the Cricket Association of Bengal president as well as the mentor of Delhi Capitals.
The CAC later became defunct and a new one was formed headed by Kapil Dev with Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad as its members.