Sourav Ganguly under spotlight for multiple roles in administration

Former Indian captain and the incumbent President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Sourav Ganguly is under the scanner once again for his multiple roles in administration.

Justice AP Shah, the Ombudsman appointed by the BCCI to exclusively look into all cases of conflicts of interest has sent an email to the Board’s President Shashank Manohar and the present Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ratnakar Shetty, enquiring about Ganguly's multiple roles in administration.

The ombudsman has given Manohar and Shetty two weeks time, until January 27, to respond to all the allegations of Ganguly coming within the conflict zone.

Apart from being the CAB president, Ganguly is also a member of the IPL Governing Council. He is also the director of a sports company that owns a football franchise in the Indian Super League (ISL). Interestingly, one of the co-owners in that football franchise, Sanjiv Goenka, happens to be the owner of the newly claimed Pune franchise, through company- New Rising.

This conflict of interest comes at a time when the BCCI is already set to act on the Lodha Committee report that has suggested multiple changes in the BCCI and the IPL administrating structure. The suggestions include bringing in neutral members in the Governing Council.

The ombudsman's mail stated, "The Office of the Ombudsman has received an application from Niraj Gunde, making certain allegations regarding conflict of interest against Sourav Ganguly, President of the Cricket Association of Bengal and a member of the IPL Governing Council. Please provide your response to the same within two weeks"

The Office of the Ombudsman has also asked the BCCI to provide contact details for Ganguly at the earliest so that he can be communicated with.

A journalist and an activist, Gunde, had sent an email to the ombudsman's office earlier this week. His email picks the list of directors in the football franchise, which includes Ganguly.

Manohar had earlier stated that he doesn't see any conflict in Ganguly being a business partner with the owner of an IPL franchise, neither does he see any regarding the IPL Governing Council, of which the former India cricketer is a member.

However, he said that if anyone has a complaint, he or she is free to write to the ombudsman regarding the matter.