Ramchandra Guha raises conflict of interest issue against cricket legends

New Delhi: Noted historian Ramchandra Guha, who quit from the Supreme Court-appointed BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA), has raised the issue of conflict of interest against several cricket legends and lashed out at the preferential treatment meted out to some of them including Sunil Gavaskar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid.

In his resignation letter addressed to CoA head Vinod Rai, , Guha has questioned former India skipper-turned-commentator Gavaskar's conflict of interest besides raising fingers at former India batting stalwart and current India-A and Under-19 coach Dravid's association with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils.

"No person under contract with an India team or with the NCA (National Cricket Academy) should be allowed to moonlight for an IPL team too," Guha's letter read.

"BCCI in its carelessness (or otherwise) might have drafted coaching/support staff contracts to allow this dual loyalty business. But while it might be narrowly legal as per existing contracts, it is unethical, and antithetical to team spirit, leading to much jealousy and heart-burn among the coaching staff as a whole. This practice is plainly wrong, as well as antithetical to the interests of Indian cricket," he added.

"The BCCI management is too much in awe of these superstars to question their violation of norms and procedures. For their part, BCCI office-bearers like to enjoy discretionary powers, so that the coaches or commentrators they favour are indebted to them and do not ever question their own mistakes or malpractices."

"I have repeatedly pointed out that it is contrary to the spirit of the Lodha Committee for coaches or the support staff of the Indian senior or junior team, or for staff at the National Cricket Academy, to have contracts in the Indian Premier League.

"Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCI TV commentary panel," he said."This is a clear conflict of interest. Either he must step down/withdraw himself from PMG completely or stop being a commentator for BCCI.

"The ‘superstar' culture that afflicts the BCCI means that the more famous the player (former or present) the more leeway he is allowed in violating norms and procedures. (Dhoni was captain of the Indian team while holding a stake in a firm that represented some current India players.) This must stop  and only we can stop it," he added.