Ramachandra Guha questioned handling of issues such as the conflict of interest and awarding Grade A contract to former skipper MS Dhoni.
Just a week after Justice RM Lodha hinted that Committee of Administrators (COA) is not focussing on implementation of Supreme Court orders, historian Ramachandra Guha questioned handling of issues such as the conflict of interest and awarding Grade A contract to former skipper MS Dhoni.
"I had pointed out that awarding MS Dhoni an 'A' contract when he had explicitly ruled himself out from all Test matches was indefensible on cricketing grounds, and sends absolutely the wrong message," Guha questioned COA rationale behind the move.
Guha even questioned cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar's dual role as Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) contracted commentator and as head of a player management company PMG, which has been taking care of opener Shikhar Dhawan.
"Sunil Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCI TV commentary panel. This is a clear conflict of interest," Guha brought former India great's conflict of interest once again before the public.
He questioned the role of former captain Sourav Ganguly, who is a part of TV commentary team despite being president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.
"Conflict of interest is rampant in the state associations as well. One famous former cricketer is contracted by media houses to comment on active players while serving as president of his State Association (read Ganguly)," said Guha in his letter.
Why veto power to Kohli?
The historian took a dig at Team India skipper Virat Kohli for the way he has opened a tirade against chief coach Anil Kumble.
Guha was not happy with the way "superstar culture" is being pushed to corner a legend like Kumble. He didn't mince words while question Kohli's role in selection of the coach. Guha directly questioned Kohli's "veto power" on deciding matters like appointment of a coach and even the commentators' panel.
In his seven-page letter to COA chief, a copy of which is with DNA, Guha said he is disgusted with the way the Kohli-Kumble fallout was handled by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and other officials. He called it "extremely insensitive and unprofessional manner".
"If indeed the captain and the head coach were not getting along, why was not this attended to as soon as the Australia series was over in late March? Why was it left until the last minutes, when a major international tournament was imminent, and when the uncertainty would undermine the morale and ability to focus of the coach, the captain and the team," questioned Guha.
IPL vs country
Guha also expressed disappointment over the ongoing cases of conflict of interest where some national coaches were given a 10-month contract, in order to free them to coach Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. This was a direct attack on India 'A' and U-19 coach and former India skipper Rahul Dravid, who is also mentor of Delhi Daredevils.
"I have repeatedly pointed out that it is contrary to the spirit of the Lodha Committee for coaches or the support staff. One cannot have dual loyalties of this kind and do proper justice to both. National duty must take precedence over club affiliation," said the historian.
He also asked COA to give reasons for its "silence and inaction". He said the panel is "unfortunately being complicit in this regard".
Interestingly, Guha recommended Javagal Srinath's name as his replacement as a former cricketer in the COA.
The only thing that goes against Guha is that he has remained absent from many BCCI meetings during his four-month long tenure. And why didn't he ensure that ineligible officials like N Srinivasan or Niranjan Shah were not allowed to attend several meetings during this time?
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 "Rahul Dravid (L) and MS Dhoni")
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