Ganguly, Laxman's multiple roles constitute conflict of interest: BCCI
The Ethics Officer of BCCI, DK Jain has said that the multiple roles taken by former cricketers Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar amounts to conflict of interest. He has questioned their presence at the ICC World Cup 2019 as commentators, since it is against the one person, one post doctrine propagated by the Lodha reforms. Here are the details.
BCCI on ex-cricketers commentating in CWC 19
All three former cricketers Ganguly, Laxman and Tendulkar have been commentating in the ongoing 2019 World Cup. The BCCI has stated that since these three are also associated with the Indian Premier League, this constitutes conflict of interest. Meanwhile, Jain also said that players who are still playing (Harbhajan Singh and Parthiv Patel) cannot be experts on television.
The trio's role in Indian Premier League
Sachin is the mentor of four-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians. Laxman is associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad, whereas, Ganguly is with Delhi Capitals. Therefore, the issue with holding these positions as well as commentating on television has been highlighted by Jain.
Issue deepens for Ganguly, Laxman
Besides commentating and being associated with respective IPL franchises, Jain has pointed out that Ganguly and Laxman are also part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). This deepens the mess for these two and they will have to make a choice here. Meanwhile, Sachin here hasn't violated any rule as he is no more a member of the CAC.
BCCI has to follow the Justice Lodha recommendations
The BCCI has to function as per the Supreme Court's directives of implementing the Justice Lodha recommendations. Jain highlighted the same and said that one person should hold one post at a time. According to him, both Laxman and Dada are holding three posts. A CoA member told PTI that the issues are being discussed and that they are working on the same.
Jain opens up on Dada, Laxman
"I have just tried to bring it out. In Sachin's case, the conflict of interest did not arise as he had withdrawn from CAC. But it does in Ganguly and Laxman's case and they need to decide how they would like to serve Indian cricket going forward," said Jain to PTI. Earlier, all three legendary cricketers had contested the allegation of conflict of interest.
The CAC at the moment stands dissolved
The major issue that lies here is that the CAC, which included these three legends, stands dissolved. They made it clear to the BCCI Ethics Officer that they won't take up this role following the conflict of interest cases, which were filed against them. Back in May, Laxman had also hit out against the BCCI and the CoA.
Everything seems so muddled up: Our take
Everything seems muddled up at the moment. Since all three have stated that they won't be part of CAC, then Jain's reasoning on this case isn't justified. Also, the three should have been informed before hand that they won't be able to take up commentary stints in CWC 19. This is something that needs more clarity and the BCCI is the guilty party here.
