In an important development, BCCI ethics officer D K Jain has dismissed conflict of interest complaint against board president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta had lodged the complaint on October 4 when Ganguly was heading the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), alleging he held multiple posts as CAB president and its representative to the BCCI AGM.
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According to the current constitution, no individual can hold multiple positions at the same time.
However, Ganguly took over as BCCI president on October 23 and duly relinquished his post as CAB chief which cleared him of any conflict.
"In my view, in the light of the noted development, the issue of whether there is any "Conflict of Interest" on the part of Mr. Ganguly does not survive for the consideration of the Ethics Officer," Jain stated in his order issued on Friday (November 15).
"Resultantly, the present complaint is rendered infructuous and is disposed of, as such," he added.
Many big names in Indian cricket have been sent notices in recent times following complaints of potential conflict of interest against them for holding multiple roles in the system.
After filing his nomination for BCCI presidential role, Ganguly had said conflict of interest is a "very serious issue" in Indian cricket as it is discouraging the best of minds from contributing to the growth of the system.
"Conflict of Interest is an issue. And I am not sure whether we will get the services of the best cricketers in the system, because they will have other options to avail," he had told reporters last month.
In fact, the Committee of Administrators, before demitting office, had recommended some key amendments to a "straight-jacketed" conflict of interest clause in the BCCI constitution.
If the amendment is accepted by the Supreme Court, former players with less than two-year contracts with the BCCI or state associations will be allowed to have multiple roles.
(With PTI inputs)
