ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD
Members Only
lock close icon

For the Love of Cricket, Time to End This ‘Conflict of Interest’!

‘Honorary positions’ in the BCCI seem to be the biggest bane as far as the ‘conflict of interest’ issue is concerned

Updated
Opinion
5 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

Conflict of interest is currently the buzzword in Indian cricket circles.

It was a concept that gained currency thanks to the mess that followed the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal in 2013. Narayanswamy Srinivasan was allowed to own a team in the league even as he was an office-bearer of the BCCI, and that was considered to be the root cause of all problems. Srinivasan has since been banished from cricket administration and his side, Chennai Super Kings, was suspended by the Supreme Court for two years.

Now even as Chennai Super Kings get set to make a return in the coming season, the problem in the first place – of conflict of interest – is still unsolved.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD
At every level, there have been instructions issued and rules framed to end all possible chances of conflict of interest. But all this has managed to do is is just raise more questions and more scenarios that no one thought could emerge!

The ‘Honorary Role’ in Indian Cricket

Indian sport in general and cricket in particular has been plagued by conflict of interest issues for a number of years. It stems from the bizarre and archaic concept of “love of the game”, where multiple people don multiple roles because they just don’t get paid – well, technically.

This very concept created the issue at various levels, because it was assumed that since Person A did not get paid doing official duties at BCCI, he could make up for it by doing something commercially viable for himself.

So that resulted in Srinivasan ‘performing’ a honorary role at BCCI as president, treasurer and secretary, and also owning a team in the IPL. This was technically allowed by the Indian cricket establishment by amendment of their constitution. But when the spot-fixing scandal broke out in 2013, this flaw was highlighted consistently.

Since then, we have had a number of attempts to course correct, with the Justice Lodha reforms being sought to be implemented in many ways. One of the key targets of this has been the set of rules that defines what is conflict of interest. Various scenarios have been drawn up and a lot of ‘elected’ office-bearers across the country have had to make the choice between love and commerce.

All career administrators and cricketers (past or present), first consider whether they come under the conflict of interest rules before they commit to any project. But the gaps are bound to emerge in any scenario.

0
‘Honorary positions’ in the BCCI seem to be the biggest bane as far as the ‘conflict of interest’ issue is concerned
File photo of current CAB President Sourav Ganguly. 
(Photo: Reuters)

Ganguly Eludes Scrutiny

Take the case of former India captain, Sourav Ganguly. He is the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), also the chairman of BCCI’s technical committee, member of the IPL governing council and also the member of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which chose the last two India coaches.

All the roles performed by Ganguly are unpaid and he discharges his duties for the ‘love of the game’ without a penny being charged for his time. But the same Ganguly is then sitting on a television network as an expert and also calls on the game as a commentator regularly

So while during the day Sourav Ganguly is in meetings to discuss issues like coach appointment, retention policy in IPL and such other matters, he then sits in the evenings in TV studios to discuss the same as an expert.

Contrast this with the role, say, former England captain Andrew Strauss does with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as Director (England cricket). His is a paid full-time position with a staff and he looks after all English teams from age-group, A sides to the national men’s and women’s sides.

That, in a nutshell, explains how much of a time-warp Indian sport and cricket is in, because the roles are unpaid, which gives rise to part-timers who are willing to run 21st century professional sport in an amateur fashion. This is the basis of all conflict of interest.

New Additions to Conflict Clause

However, now, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) is extending the definition of ‘conflict of interest’ to new levels by even bringing in commentators and players into its ambit. We have had a situation where another former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had to shut down the player management wing of his sports marketing company Professional Management Group (PMG). This was because the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant were being managed by PMG. It was argued that this was a conflict of interest as Gavaskar was a BCCI-contracted commentator, and could not be calling games when his own clients were in action.

Some days later, Rohan Gavaskar, son of the senior Gavaskar, also a former India cricketer, shut down his cricket academy. Rohan is contracted to BCCI and calls on all domestic games. Even this was considered a conflict of interest.

Some of the rules framed to cover a commentator contracted to BCCI make it difficult for a lot of former cricketers. The rules clearly state now that anyone being signed up as a commentator should have no immediate relative involved at any level in any capacity whether at the BCCI or the states.  This excludes a number of former cricketers and hence makes it a complete mockery. Now it is emerging that the commentators contracted to BCCI also cannot write syndicated columns. This is again considered to be a conflict of interest.

But two former India batsmen VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag who do Hindi commentary for official broadcaster, Star Sports, do not fall under the ambit of conflict of interest. This is because they are contracted to the broadcaster and not to BCCI. So people sitting in the same commentary box have different rules governing them!

‘Honorary positions’ in the BCCI seem to be the biggest bane as far as the ‘conflict of interest’ issue is concerned
Delhi’s Ranji captain Gautam Gambhir’s role in the DDCA’s Managing Committee has now come under the scanner.
(Photo: Reuters)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

The Gambhir Googly

The interpretation of what is conflict of interest also extends to current cricketers like Gautam Gambhir. The Delhi and District Association (DDCA) is the most complex sports administrative body in the country. It is registered under the Companies Act, but a certain aspect of it works on proxy voting and also has a government nominee.

Gambhir announced himself that he is the new government nominee in the DDCA managing committee and immediately came under the scanner of the rules. The DDCA is currently being run by a court-appointed administrator, so technically the appointment of the government nominee does not arise. But even if it does, as a current cricketer, the rules preclude Gambhir from sitting in judgment on everything that decides his own fate.

A current cricketer like Gambhir would not have been co-opted if the administrative wing was not so opaque. Clearly defined administrative structure at the top (BCCI), with replicas adapted at the state level, will help end this bizarre interpretation of conflict of interest.  But what we have is just stonewalling attempts by interested parties and that results in heroes like Gambhir, who starred in India's 2011 World Cup win, being subjected to scrutiny.

The root cause of this issue lies in that meeting in 2007 when a rule was made to create an exception. But now that very exceptional rule has engulfed Indian cricket from every possible angle. Hopefully the entire matter can be finally laid to rest on 29 November when the Supreme Court finally discusses and closes the BCCI case file.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

(Chandresh Narayanan is former cricket writer with The Times of India, The Indian Express, ex-Media Officer for ICC and current media manager of Delhi Daredevils. He is also the author of World Cup Heroes, Cricket Editorial consultant, professor and cricket TV commentator.)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from opinion

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×