Conflict of interest case against Dravid dismissed

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ethics officer Justice DK Jain has dismissed the complaint of conflict of interest made against Rahul Dravid for taking over as head coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) while being an employee of India Cements Ltd.

In the complaint filed against Dravid it was alleged that he held more than one post in violation of rule 38 (4) of conflict of interest. The two posts Dravid was slated to be occupying are: Head coach of National Cricket Academy/ Head coach of BCCI junior team. At the same time, he is vice president of India Cements Ltd, the owner of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. “Yes, I have dismissed the complaint against Dravid. He has no conflict of interest,” Jain said. In his order on Thursday, Jain said, “I am convinced that on facts at hand, a case of ‘conflict of interest’ as enshrined in the rules is not made out. Resultantly, the complaint is dismissed.”

In his reply, filed on affidavit, on August 9, 2019, Dravid refuted the allegation of any kind of ‘conflict of interest’. He has submitted that he had taken over as ‘Head Cricket Coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), on July 8, 2019, only after complying with all the formalities that were specified and required by the BCCI, including the provisions of Rule 38 (2) of the Rules’. To avoid any kind of conflict of interest, he took ‘leave of absence’, without pay, from his employer (India Cements Limited) for the entire term of his engagement with the BCCI, in the said capacity.