BCCI Officials to Sign No Conflict of Interest Undertaking

In its bid to clean the image of the sport, the BCCI has notified all the Board members to sign an undertaking declaring that they do not have 'conflict of interest' while holding functionary posts in their respective cricket associations.

A couple of state associations have already received a letter from BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur instructing all office bearers to declare their business interests and sign the undertaking. (India's bowling attack: Sandeep Patil and MS Dhoni have different views)

It has also been learnt that the letter has been sent to all officials who are in various sub-committees formed by the BCCI. The undertaking will also be signed by president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer. (Sundar Raman an employee, not a decision-maker in BCCI: Secretary Anurag Thakur)

The 'no conflict of interest' clause would include no direct business links with any cricketing affairs in BCCI including interest or stake in IPL teams, sponsorships or looking after specific players' interests.

"Yes, we have received a letter from BCCI secretary today. He has categorically stated that the image of the BCCI in the wake of recent scandals have taken a hit. He has asked that we all give a written undertaking of our business interests," a senior state association official, who has received the letter, told PTI on condition of anonymity.

He added, "He has clearly stated that from now on, no BCCI official will be allowed to continue in his positions if there is even a slightest hint of conflict of interest. A time-frame has been given but I cannot reveal anything about that. All I know is that it is applicable for all BCCI officials."

Another senior BCCI official, who has received the BCCI notification, said, "There was a discussion in these lines but secretary expressed his worry about the public perception that has been created about BCCI. All the senior functionaries understand that some concrete steps need to be taken in order to restore the credibility and faith in the game.

"Therefore, even though some state associations may not like the idea but they are now bound to sign the undertaking."

The conflict of interest issue came into prominence back in 2008 when N Srinivasan, as the erstwhile treasurer of the board, went onto successfully bid for Chennai Super Kings.

CSK had been embroiled in controversy after Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for indulging in betting activities and subsequently banned for life by the Supreme Committee-appointed Justice Lodha Committee.

Another notable conflict of interest case was when a former India captain ran a parallel players' management firm while he was the president of state association and also part of IPL franchise. Questions about his conflict of interest were raised then.