new Delhi
BCCI Ethics Officer DK Jain said on Sunday that he was investigating a complaint of conflict of interest filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a lifelong member of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, against Indian captain Virat Kohli. Gupta had earlier also made similar allegations against other players, which were later dismissed. Gupta has alleged in his latest complaint that Kohli holds two positions simultaneously.
Gupta said in his allegations – the captain of the Indian team and the co-director of a talent management company, which manages the management of many players of the team. Gupta has alleged that it is a violation of the BCCI constitution which prevents a person from holding multiple positions. He told Jain, 'I have received a complaint. I will examine it and then see if a case is made. If the case is made, I will have to give them (Kohli) a chance to reply. '
Read- On the complaint against Kohli, BCCI said …
Gupta claimed that Kohli is a director at Cornerstone Venture Partners LLP and Virat Kohli Sports LLP. The company also has Amit Arun Sajdeh (Bunty Sajdeh) and Binoy Bharat Khimji as co-directors. Both of them are part of Cornerstonesports & Entertainment Pvt Ltd. Kohli does not have a role in Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
Apart from the Indian captain, the company manages the business interests of several other players including KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav. Gupta wrote in his complaint, “In view of the above, Virat Kohli's holding the post at one time is in violation of BCCI Rule 38 (4) approved by the Supreme Court of India. They will have to abdicate one of their posts in compliance.
This is the first major case since Jain's tenure was extended by a year last month. During his first term, Jain had settled complaints of interests against Indian cricket's great batsmen Rahul Dravid, Saurabh Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Kapil Dev. All these complaints were made by Gupta after which these legendary players had to resign from a post. These complaints were later dismissed. BCCI President Saurabh Ganguly has already stated that the criteria of conflict of interest set by the Lodha Committee is not realistic.