Conflict of interest rule to stay in place as of now: CoA member Diana Edulji

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji on Monday said the conflict of interest rule will be followed ‘as of now’ and amendments in this regard can be made if the Supreme Court deems fit.

“The ethics officer sends the complaint to us and he then takes the call. He’s a former judge of the Supreme Court. He will definitely go by the rules book. Yes, cricket is having a little difficulty in this conflict of interest rule. I think if the papers are put perfectly in the court, they will understand,” Edulji told reporters.

Edulji, who was talking to reporters after the conclusion of a meeting between the CoA and Indian cricketers over the conflict of interest rule, said: “Good suggestions came up during the meeting. As of now, a conflict of interest rule has to be followed.”

“The amendments will be made once the court gives its verdict. We are trying our level best to see what is best for cricket. If the Supreme Court decides, the amendments will be implemented,” she said.

Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, who was part of the meeting, said the cricketers put forth their concerns regarding the conflict of interest rule.

“We were asked for a suggestion as a player. We talked about both current and former players. We had an elaborate discussion. Players shared their concerns. It was a good meeting,” said Pathan.

Earlier this month, Rahul Dravid was accused of conflict of interest by the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association’s member Sanjay Gupta. Dravid is the current National Cricket Academy (NCA) head and is also employed as the vice president of India Cements Group.

When this issue came to light, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly had said that conflict of interest has become a new fashion in Indian cricket.

Harbhajan Singh had also agreed with Ganguly’s comment. Earlier this year, Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar were questioned over the conflict of interest issue.

However, Ravi Thodge, member of the CoA, on August 13 said that there was no conflict of interest in the appointment of Dravid as the NCA’s head.

“There is no conflict in Rahul’s case. He has got a notice. We cleared his appointment, as we saw no conflict,” Thodge had said.

The Supreme Court on January 30, 2017 had nominated a four-member panel CoA to look after the administration of the BCCI in order to implement Lodha Committee reforms.