What’s the Story?
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed confusion over Ramachandra Guha’s charge of ‘conflict of interest’ against him, stating that he had been an honest servant of Indian cricket in various capacities for numerous years and he was disappointed about the historian questioning his integrity.
"I am absolutely confused as to where the conflict arises. Is there something particular against me that Ram Guha has named me in public? What disappoints me really is that I have been trying to serve Indian cricket as a player, then as an administrator with the cricket committee, the technical committee and I was there for two months as the BCCI president,” he told NDTV.
"Indian cricket has done more for me than I have done for it. I'm very disappointed that they are doubting my integrity and contribution to Indian cricket," he added.
In case you didn’t know...
On Friday, Mr. Guha’s letter to the Committee of Administrators, following his resignation from the Supreme Court-appointed panel, was made public and it consisted of several key point, one of which was criticising Gavaskar of being a commentator and also being the head of a sports management company, which handles some players from the present team.
The heart of the matter
He also categorically stated that he had no conflict of interest and was baffled that his integrity was questioned.The former India captain also commented on the ongoing saga involving Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli, stating that he did not see any reason as to why the former should not remain in is position as the head coach of the Indian team and disagreements were part of every setup, anywhere.
What’s next?
Gavaskar is one of the first players, criticised by Guha to have reacted to the comments made by him in the latter. It remains to be seen if few of the others who have been directly or indirectly slammed by the historian also come forward and give their opinion on the matter.
Author’s take
It is actually very surprising to see Gavaskar come forward and say he does not have a conflict of interest when clearly he does so. Holding the top position in sports management firm, which manages some of the players and later commenting upon them on air is something which falls under that bracket and maybe Gavaskar can provide some clarity over his comments in the future.
