"It's Unfortunate That Only Few Cricketers Can Contribute": Anil Kumble On Conflict Of Interest

Anil Kumble, the former India head coach has said that majority of the professions have conflicts and it is up to the individual on how he deals with it. Kumble also added that due to "conflict of interest" only 300 cricketers out of which only 50 per cent can contribute to Indian cricket. Kumble's comments came after former India captain Rahul Dravid received a notice from BCCI's Ethics Officer Justice DK Jain over conflict of interest. Notably, Dravid, who was recently appointed as the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) is also a vice-president with the India Cements group, a company that owns Chennai-based franchise Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Kumble elucidated that it is unfortunate that only a few cricketers can contribute to Indian cricket.

"There are only 300 as of now and out of 300, I guess 50 percent of them are living. So, only those can contribute back to the game. If you don't want them to contribute back to the game, then I think you need to find somebody else to contribute in cricket," Kumble was quoted as saying by ANI.

Speaking further on the recent issue that saw Dravid getting a notice from the ethics officer, Kumble elucidated that every profession has conflicts and it is how you deal with it which is very critical.

"It's unfortunate that every cricketer only has to deal with conflict and you know it's something unfortunate that only a few of them can only contribute. There are only a few cricketers who have played for India," Kumble said.

"I think every profession has conflicts in every walk of life. How you deal with it, how you disclose those prior that what you are involved in I think it is very critical. And once people know that you are involved in so and so, then I don't think there is any conflict," Kumble added.

Sanjay Gupta, who filed the complaint, had earlier filed a conflict of interest charge against former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman for their dual roles. Both Tendulkar and Laxman were part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and were also the mentors of their respective IPL franchises.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Anil Kumble Rahul Dravid Cricket