Sourav Ganguly Must Not Occupy More Than One Post: Ethics Officer Warns BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ethics Officer D.K. Jain has clearly said to the board that former India captain Sourav Ganguly wouldn’t be able to hold more than one position. Ganguly, however, is the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) along with the advisor of Delhi Capitals in Indian Premier League (IPL) and also a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee of the BCCI.

“In the instant case, having regard to the afore noted stand of Mr. Ganguly, viz (i) that if it is found by the Ethics Officer that his presence in the CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) has resulted in a “conflict of interest” situation, as envisaged in Rule 38 of the Rules, his Reply in these Complaints may be treated as his resignation there from immediate effect and (ii) that his involvement with the IPL Franchise has come to an end in May 2019, I declare that in the present case the “Conflict of Interest” is tractable,”?Ethics Officer D.K. Jain said.

“Although it is trite law that the ignorance of the law is no excuse and, Mr. Ganguly was obliged to disclose the requisite information as stipulated in Rule 38(2) of the Rules, but bearing in the mind the fact that the Rules have come into existence only after August 2018, I am inclined to give benefit of doubt to Mr. Ganguly that perhaps he may not have realised that his occupying the said three posts did involve “Conflict of Interest,” he further added.

Although, Ganguly had made his point clear in his letter to the ombudsman, saying he had resigned from all the committees and that the CAC is not a functional committee as the constitutes meet time-to-time for special objectives in special contingencies. Even VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were also served the conflict of interest notices for a similar reason.

He even shared that earlier he had been a part of the BCCI Technical Committee, IPL Technical Committee and the IPL Governing Council but currently he is not connected with the administration, management of the IPL or other organisational units set up or maintained by the BCCI. However, it will be interesting to see how the former India captain manages this problem.