Published 11:59 IST, July 6th 2020
BCCI ethics officer begins examining 'conflict-of-interest' complaint against Virat Kohli
BCCI ethics officer DK Jain has revealed the board has opened an investigation into a conflict of interest complaint against Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli.
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BCCI will be examining the conflict of interest allegations against Indian captain Virat Kohli, BCCI ethics officer DK Jain has confirmed. The development has taken place after Sanjeev Gupta had levelled charges against Virat Kohli. The allegation revolves around how Virat Kohli is both the captain of the Indian cricket team as well as the director of a company which has co-directors linked to a famous talent management company. The company in question manages several Indian players such as KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant amongst others.
Conflict of interest complaint filed against Virat Kohli
The complaint was filed on July 4 by Sanjeev Gupta, who is a member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. Gupta had written a mail to BCCI ethics officer-cum-ombudsman Justice (retd) DK Jain, as well as numerous BCCI executives such as BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and CEO Rahul Johri.In the complaint, Gupta had claimed that Virat Kohli violates the BCCI constitution which prohibits an individual from holding multiple positions.
Gupta said that Virat Kohli serves as one of the directors of Cornerstone Venture Partners LLP and Virat Kohli Sports LLP with his co-directors -- Amit Arun Sajdeh and Binoy Bharat Khimji also being a part of the former. Gupta claims that Virat Kohli does not have a role in the talent management company of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment Private Limited. The company manages the commercial interests of Virat Kohli as well as several other Indian cricketers such as KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant amongst others.
The Lodha Committee while reworking the constitution of the BCCI had clearly mentioned that conflict of interest is an area that needs to be fought hard for better administration of the game.https://t.co/FF9stsZebM
— Bangalore Mirror (@BangaloreMirror) July 5, 2020
Sanjeev Gupta has asked for Virat Kohli to relinquish one of the posts in his complaint. This is not the first time Sanjeev Gupta has filed a complaint against Indian cricketers. In the past, he has filed similar conflict of interest complaints against players like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. However, in all those complaints, the cricketers were ultimately cleared of any allegations.
BCCI to examine the complaint against Virat Kohli
BCCI ethics officer while speaking to PTI confirmed that the BCCI will be looking into the allegations against Virat Kohli. Dinesh Jain, the BCCI ethics officer said on July 5, that he had received a complaint against Virat Kohli. The BCCI ethics officer said that he’ll examine the complaint and see if the case is made out or not. The BCCI ethics officer concluded that if a case is made out of the complaint, he will offer an opportunity to Virat Kohli to respond.
Image Courtesy: instagram/virat.kohli
11:59 IST, July 6th 2020