Shantha Rangaswamy asked to depose before ethics officer on conflict charges
Shantha Rangaswamy, a member of the now defunct Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), has been asked to depose before the BCCI ethics officer DK Jain to explain the conflict of interest allegations levelled against her. Fellow CAC members Anshuman Gaekwad and Kapil Dev were called up earlier this week.
The three-member CAC, led by Kapil, was formed by the now-defunct Committee of Administrators (CoA) to appoint the senior men’s and women’s head coach. While WV Raman was named the women’s coach last year, the panel then decided to extend Ravi Shastri’s tenure as the men’s head coach in August this year. However, all three had resigned after receiving conflict of interest notice from Jain in September following complaints filed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) life member Sanjeev Gupta. It is understood that while Gaekwad (in person) and Rangaswamy (via Skype) has agreed to be deposed, Kapil will not attend the hearing as the committee itself is now defunct.
“The ethics officer has asked to depose on December 28. Even Kapil and Gaekwad will depose around the same time. They need to appear before the ethics officer and clarify whether they fall under the conflict of interest rule,” one of the Board officials told Sportstar.
The one-post-per-person clause in the existing BCCI constitution has proven a major headache for the board, with Gupta, once again, levelling his complaint claiming that Kapil, Gaekwad and Rangaswamy are involved in multiple cricketing roles.
“Conflict of interest is a major concern and with such instances, not many former cricketers would be keen to be part of the CAC. Why would anyone face so much hassle for a free service? There needs to be a practical solution to the problem,” the official added.
Meanwhile, on Friday, BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly confirmed that a new CAC will be formed in the next couple of days to announce the new selection panel for a three-year tenure.
