Rahul Dravid asked to depose before ethics officer in conflict case

PTI, Aug 26, 2019, 3:33 PM IST

BCCI ethics officer DK Jain has asked cricketing great and NCA head Rahul Dravid to depose in Mumbai on September 26 over the conflict of interest allegations levelled against him.

Earlier this month, former Supreme Court judge Jain had asked Dravid to respond in writing after receiving a complaint from Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta.

According to Gupta’s complaint, Dravid is allegedly conflicted as he is the NCA Director and also employed as vice-president of India Cements group, which owns IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

Jain confirmed that Dravid has been given a hearing to explain his case on September 26. BCCI employee Mayank Parikh, who too faces of conflict of interest allegations, will also depose on the same day.

In his written reply, it has been learnt that Dravid has defended himself saying he has taken leave of absence from employers India Cements and he has nothing to do with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. India Cements own the M S Dhoni captained franchise.

The notice sent to Dravid did not go down well with the likes of greats like Sourav Ganguly, who went to the extent of saying “god help Indian cricket”. Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh too had backed Ganguly.

“New fashion in indian cricket …..conflict of interest ….Best way to remain in news …god help indian cricket ……Dravid Gets Conflict of Interest Notice from BCCI Ethics Officer,” Ganguly had tweeted.

That development led to an extensive meeting between the former players and Committee of Administrators running Indian cricket. The likes of former captain Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel and Rohan Gavaskar attended the meeting in person while Ganguly joined in via skype.

After the meeting, it was decided that a white paper will be prepared on conflict of interest and Supreme Court will decide on the contentious issue.

“Till the time Supreme Court doesn’t decide on the matter, the existing conflict of interest rule in the constitution stands,” a BCCI official said.