After Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman served 'conflict of interest' notice

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) ombudsman-cum-ethics officer Justice (retd.) DK Jain has served former Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman with a notice. The duo has been served for an alleged ‘conflict of interest’ as they are currently working with the IPL franchises from their respective cities i.e. Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.

This, while they are still members of the BCCI, appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) along with Sourav Ganguly. The trio that forms the CAC which is from time to time given different responsibilities by the board have been working on a voluntary basis. Ganguly also is associated with the Delhi Capitals franchise as the team mentor while he holds office as the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). He too was served with a similar notice to explain his position and association with the team.

The ombudsman is acting on a complaint filed by Sanjeev Gupta who is a Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) member. The two former cricketers, as well as the Indian cricket board that has employed them, need to submit their response by April 28, otherwise, they shall not be given an opportunity to present their side in the case.

A complaint has been filed against the duo

Justice Jain in his notice to Sachin and Laxman wrote: “A complaint has been received by the Ethics Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (for short “the BCCI”) under Article 39 of the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI, regarding certain acts, allegedly constituting as ‘conflict of interest’ on your part.

“You may file your written response to the accompanying Complaint, supported by duly executed affidavit, on or before 28th April 2019, with the Office of the Ethics Officer, BCCI, Mumbai for further proceedings in the matter,” he further stated.

Once the news of Ganguly’s conflict of interest came up, the cricketer had clarified that he was working with DC on non-financial terms because of his personal relationship with the team owner.

On similar lines, reports suggest that Tendulkar also has a non-financial contract with MI. “Since Ganguly was issued notice, the Ombudsman probably issued the notices to both Tendulkar and Laxman also. But I can confirm that Tendulkar doesn’t take a single penny from Mumbai Indians. He is just doing voluntary service. Also in BCCI, he never got paid for his services as CAC,” a senior BCCI official privy to development was quoted as saying on Cricbuzz.

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