Dilip Vengsarkar’s appointment as CIC chairman could be a case of ‘conflict of interest’

Former India selector, Dilip Vengsarkar, risks being sacked from his post as chairman of the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) at the Mumbai Cricket Association with speculation of ‘conflict of interest’ popping up in recent headlines.

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association’s member, Sanjeev Gupta, has penned a letter to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ombudsman, Justice (retired) D.K. Jain, complaining that Vengsarkar’s involvement in the CIC is a case of ‘conflict of interest’.

In his formal complaint to BCCI Constitution dated 21.08.18 Rule number – 41(1)(c) against Vengsarkar, Gupta has highlighted that the Vengsarkar stands conflicted as he breaches the Rule 6 (5) (f) of the constitution, which says that a person shall be disqualified from being an Office Bearer, a member of the Governing Council or any Committee or a representative to the International Cricket Council or any similar organization if he or she, “has been an Office Bearer of the BCCI for a cumulative period of 9 years or of a State association for a cumulative period of 9 years”.

Earlier, Vengsarkar has served four two-year terms as the MCA vice president from 2002 to 2010, before losing the presidential election to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in 2011.

The former India captain returned as vice-president of the MCA after a four-year hiatus during which he was also the chairman of the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) in 2015.

However, Vengsarkar stepped down from his post as MCA vice-president in 2017 following the Supreme Court’s verdict that barred him from continuing as per the Lodha Committee recommendations. But on Friday, Vengsarkar returned to an active role in MCA as the chairman of the high-profile CIC. 

A couple of weeks ago, Gupta had complained to the BCCI Ombudsman, who is also the Ethics Officer, against Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman for conflict of interest. 

“Every day, there are complaints but we need to be clear about which are the issues that fall under conflict, and which are the issues which don’t. Now, with a retired judge as the Ombudsman, hopefully, things will fall in place,” A BCCI inside source told Sportstar.