BCCI to have ethics officer to look into conflict of interest

All issues regarding conflict of interest will be referred to ethics officer appointed by the BCCI. He will be appointed soon. A lot of complaints regarding conflict of interest have been received,” Rai said.

A member of staff walks past the logo of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside its headquarters in Mumbai on May 22, 2016. The new chief of India's embattled cricket board said that the body was not "running away" from reforms following corruption scandals, but he remained opposed to a key recommendation from the country's top court. Lawmaker Anurag Thakur, 41, was elected as the youngest-ever president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following a special meeting in Mumbai. / GETTYOUT / ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE----- / AFP PHOTO / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE-----

The BCCI will soon appoint an ethics officer to address the issue of conflict of interest, which has been plaguing Indian cricket for some time now. Committee of Administrators (COA) chairman Vinod Rai today said such a decision was the need of the hour.

“All issues regarding conflict of interest will be referred to ethics officer appointed by the BCCI. He will be appointed soon. A lot of complaints regarding conflict of interest have been received,” said Rai after a meeting.

Historian Ramachandra Guha, who resigned from the committee recently, had lashed out at the BCCI’s functioning in his resignation letter and made observation on conflict of interest in the case of Rahul Dravid, who is India A coach and also a mentor of the Delhi Daredevils IPL franchise.

Dravid has sought more clarity on the subject so that he can take an informed decision.

Guha sparked a debate on the issue as he also alleged that legendary opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar also had a conflict of interest in his working as BCCI commentator when he also had stakes in Professional Management Group (PMG) which signed up Shikhar Dhawan for three years.

The historian wrote in his letter, “I have repeatedly pointed to the anomaly whereby BCCI—contracted commentators simultaneously act as player agents.” Gavaskar though sees no conflict of interest and said he was appalled by the allegations.