Documents reveal that VVS Laxman, who was part of the committee that selected Anil Kumble as Team India’s coach, is the second biggest shareholder in Kumble’s company Tenvic Sports Education Private Ltd
In one of the most glaring instances of conflict of interest in Indian cricket, it has now emerged that the selection of Anil Kumble as the coach of Team India was done by a former cricketer who is a shareholder in Kumble’s company. The cricketer in question is none other than VVS Laxman, who was one of the three Cricket Advisory Committee members that selected Kumble as the coach. The other members of the committee were Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. These revelations raise serious questions on the selection of Kumble and Laxman’s role in the rejection of other candidates who had applied to be Team India’s coach.
Documents with dna show that Laxman is the second largest shareholder in Kumble’s company, Tenvic Sports Education Private Limited. On June 23, when Laxman as part of the committee picked Kumble as Team India’s coach, he continued to hold 33,332 shares in Tenvic Sports. As a shareholder and a designated ‘icon’ in Tenvic Sports, Laxman was also entitled to a substantial amount of money in the form of incentives, bonus and other benefits from Kumble’s firm.
The Bengaluru-based Tenvic Sports started operations in 2011 and according to the company’s website is involved in marketing and training. The company’s first meeting was held in September 2012, a few months after Laxman played his last international game against Australia at Adelaide. Documents reveal that Laxman held 16,666 equity shares in Kumble’s firm in 2012.
The very next year, Laxman’s shareholding in the company doubled to 33,332 shares. A nominal sum of a few thousand rupees was paid by Laxman for doubling his stake in the company.
Kumble had also enlisted the services of former badminton player Prakash Padukone and table tennis player Sharath Kamal. Both Padukone and Kamal along with Laxman were also shareholders in Kumble’s company.
In addition to the shareholding, Laxman, along with others, also seemed to have received money from Kumble for the services rendered by them to the company. It is unclear how much of the money was paid specifically to Laxman. The financial statements of Kumble’s firm reveal that almost Rs 7 crore was paid between 2012 to 2014 under various expense heads. Almost Rs 3 crore was paid during this period as bonus and incentives while employee benefits were to the tune of Rs 3.2 crore during this period. The remaining amount was classified as consultancy and professional charges.
Questions sent to Kumble and Laxman went unanswered. dna sent specific questions to Tendulkar, Ganguly and BCCI president Anurag Thakur, but did not elicit a response till the time of going to press. dna will carry the respective responses of all the cricketers and Thakur when we receive the same.
It is unclear whether Tendulkar and Ganguly, the other two members of the committee that selected Kumble as coach, were aware of the business partnership between Kumble and Laxman. It is reliably learnt that neither Tendulkar nor Ganguly raised this apparent conflict of interest with the BCCI ombudsman Justice AP Shah.
Shah, as the BCCI appointed ombudsman, has been proactive in addressing conflict of interest issues in Indian cricket and has sent notices to various BCCI officials and former players to explain their respective positions.
The Supreme Court (SC) had also ruled that the conflict of interest situation in Indian cricket was a complete “anti-thesis to the fundamental imperatives of the game” and impermissible under law. The SC in its judgment on January 22, 2015 ruled, “Conflict of interests against those who hold positions of influence in the BCCI have left many a cricketing enthusiast and followers of the game worried and deeply suspicious about what goes on in the name of the game.”
The BCCI had declared Kumble’s selection as an unanimous decision taken by the committee comprising India’s three cricketing legends – Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly. With documents proving that Laxman is a business partner of Kumble, serious doubts remain on how Indian cricket’s cosy club seems to be disregarding the country’s highest court and doling out favors with impunity on each other.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Laxman-Kumble")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}