Gavaskar to clarify ‘conflict of interest’ at next ICC meeting

DUBAI—Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, will chair the next meeting of the ICC’s cricket committee before conveying his views on the potential conflict of interest between his dual roles in the ICC and as a media commentator.
Gavaskar met Malcolm Speed, the ICC CEO, in Dubai on Wednesday to discuss the issue and “it was agreed that Sunil will convey his views” after a meeting of the cricket committee on May 5-6. The ICC Board will review the matter at its next meeting, during the ICC Annual Conference week, between June 29 and July 4.
Speed had last week been authorised by the ICC Board to ask Gavaskar to choose between the two roles. “That situation still stands, it’s just that Gavaskar will now convey his decision to the ICC after the cricket committee meeting,” said a source close to the situation.
The meeting between the two was held in a very cordial atmosphere with both of them “joking and laughing” by the end, said the source. “Speed and Gavaskar have been working together for so long, that was not a problem,” the source said.
The issue of a potential conflict of interest came up in the aftermath of the Sydney Test between Australia and India last January, when Gavaskar criticised match referee Mike Procter in his newspaper column for banning Harbhajan Singh for alleged racial abuse.
After the ICC’s executive board meeting in Dubai last week, Gavaskar criticised the boards of England and Australia in another syndicated newspaper column. “Gone are the days when two countries, England and Australia, had the veto power in international cricket, even though the dinosaurs may not open their eyes and see the reality,” he wrote. “The cricketing world has found that India has no longer a diffident voice but a confident one that knows what is good for its cricket, and will strive to get it.”

—Agencies