Have replied to CEO; BCCI can decide if we are clean to pick coach: CAC member

A senior board functionary said that while there have been talks of conflict with regards to all the three members, the legal team will be guiding the CoA in this case.
For representational purposes (File photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (File photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Moments after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) announced in the Capital last week that the trio of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy had been formally appointed the new Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) to select the head coach of the Indian team, questions of conflict started doing the rounds. And the CAC has now left it on the CoA to decide if they are eligible to go ahead with the appointment.

Speaking to IANS, a member of the CAC said that it was for the committee to decide if they can or cannot appoint the next head coach of the Indian team and their job was to only reply to the mail from the CEO Rahul Johri on declaration regarding conflict of interest.

"Have replied to the mail from the CEO and made my position clear. If the CoA or the legal team feels that there is a case of conflict against me, then I shall accept the same. It is a very fine line and an area that I cannot be commenting on. It will not be fair if I do. I will go with the call made by the BCCI in this matter," the member said.

A senior board functionary said that while there have been talks of conflict with regards to all the three members, the legal team will be guiding the CoA in this case.

"The CoA will in their next meeting discuss the replies of the three members with the legal team and the future course of action will be decided after that. If the legal team deems they aren't conflicted, then the appointment holds ground. Else, the Ethics Officer will come into the picture," the functionary told IANS.

A board executive said that the whole process of selection of the next coach could get derailed if the legal team finds that the three members are in violation of the conflict of interest clause of the BCCI constitution.

"The constitution calls for one person one post and if that is the case, all three CAC members might be in conflict. Kapil is a director of the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA) and that is funded by the BCCI. This apart, he is also said to be the owner of Dev Musco, a sports lighting company supplies floodlights to some leading Indian international cricket grounds.

"Anshuman has been on various BCCI committees over the years and is now a member of the affiliation committee of the BCCI. He was also a member of the steering committee of the players association. Coming to Shantha, she is again the director of the Indian Cricketers Association," the executive explained to IANS.

"But then, in case of Kapil and Shantha and their position in the ICA, it could be argued that they are just promoters of the players association and are there till the time elections are held. It is an interesting matter and the Ethics Officer could have the last say."

Speaking to IANS earlier, former CJI R.M. Lodha had made it clear that with the appointment of D.K. Jain, it was important for the latter to ensure that all appointments and functions are carried out in line with the proposals of the Lodha panel.

"The Ethics Officer is there now to decide. Our recommendations are in place and based on that I was told the constitution was framed. As and when issue arises, the Ethics Officer should take a call," Lodha had pointed.

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