Former India captain Rahul Dravid seems to have run in to a 'conflict of interest' issue once again.
The legendary batsman, who is the head coach of the World Cup-winning India Under-19 team, is in the spotlight for his association with the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sport Excellence in Bengaluru.
Although there is no certainty at the moment that there is a conflict of interest, Dravid has written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stressing that he isn't an owner of the centre.
“Dravid has voluntarily disclosed and clarified that the centre would bear his name, but he has no ownership interest in the company or in any of the academies run by it,” a top BCCI official was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Dravid, coach of the India U-19 and India A teams since July 2015, gave up his coaching role in the Indian Premier League last year because of conflict of interest.
The 45-year-old had informed the Board regarding the current matter before departing to New Zealand for the ICC Under-19 World Cup. It was then brought to the notice of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).
“There should be no problem for Dravid in this but it’s always better to get a legal clarification before coming to any conclusion. Once an ombudsman is appointed, the matter will be referred to him,” added the BCCI official.
The sporting centre in question, of which Dravid is a co-chairman in the advisory board, boasts of academies in badminton, cricket, tennis, squash, football and swimming.
Dravid was in the news recently for getting his monetary reward reduced to half after India's triumph at the U-19 World Cup. 'The Wall', was who to get Rs 50 lakh, ensured he got the same amount as the rest of the coaching staff by taking a massive pay cut himself.
New office bearers for BCCI?
Meanwhile, the CoA on Thursday sought the removal of current BCCI office bearers.
In its seventh status report to the apex court, the two-member CoA, comprising of Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, cited that the term of office of the present office-bearers expired on March 1, 2018, according to the BCCI's existing Constitution.
"The term of the current office bearers and vice-presidents has expired on March 1, 2018, i.e. a period of three years from the date they were elected. Accordingly, there is a need to elect fresh office bearers for BCCI," the CoA said in its report.
The CoA further pointed out that Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla also outlived his tenure.
It further stated that Shukla was given a one-year extension at the 87th AGM of BCCI in September 2016 and his term already ended on September 20 last year and there was a need to select fresh set of office-bearers.
The CoA also asked the apex court to issue a direction to convene the 88th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BCCI without the formal adoption of the new constitution as per the Lodha Committee recommendation.
"Elections to be held at the 88th Annual General Meeting of BCCI have to be in accordance with the recommendations of Justice Lodha committee as accepted vide the judgement," CoA said.
(Inputs from ANI)
