Hearing ends in Rahul Dravid's conflict of interest case

Rahul Dravid

New Delhi: The hearing in the alleged conflict of interest case involving Indian cricketing great Rahul Dravid concluded here on Tuesday with BCCI ethics officer D K Jain saying "his order can be expected soon". MPCA life member Sanjiv Gupta had filed a complaint against Dravid, alleging conflict of interest in his current role as National Cricket Academy (NCA) Head and being an India Cements employee.

"The hearing has been concluded. You can expect my order soon," Jain told PTI. The 46-year-old former India captain had earlier explained his case in a personal hearing held in Mumbai on September 26. However, the ethics officers asked Dravid to depose before him for a second time but on Monday. The NCA chief was represented by his lawyer PTI has learnt.

"A lawyer from BCCI and complainant Gupta were also heard," a board official said. Asked why Dravid was required to depose again, Jain added, "There is no special reason. I had some doubts and I thought I must clarify them". Dravid is currently the NCA Director in Bengaluru besides being a vice-president in the India Cements group, which owns the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

He was also the head coach of the India A and Under-19 teams before being handed the NCA role, which includes monitoring the progress of these two sides as well. In his earlier submission, Dravid had defended himself saying he has taken leave of absence from India Cements and he has nothing to do with the Chennai Super Kings.
As per the BCCI constitution, no individual can hold more than one post at the same time.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) was in charge of the BCCI when the September hearing took place but a new set of officer-bearers were elected on October 23, ending the 33-month tenure of the Supreme Court-appointed panel. The conflict of interest is one of the most contentious issues facing Indian cricket. Legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and new BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly have also been served conflict of interest notice in the past.

Before demitting the office, the CoA, in its 11th and final status report submitted to the Supreme Court, had recommended some key amendments to a "straight-jacketed" conflict of interest clause in the BCCI constitution. If the amendment is accepted by the apex court, former players with less than two-year contracts with the BCCI or state associations, will be allowed to have multiple roles.

They will also be allowed to join multiple committees like the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and won't be barred from commentary stints.

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