Complaints have been pouring in from different parts of the country ever since retired judge A.P. Shah was appointed the BCCI’s first-ever ombudsman in October. From former India captain Sourav Ganguly to BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur to selector Vikram Rathour to off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, many prominent names are under scrutiny on charges of conflict of interest. Even BCCI media manager Nishant Arora, a former journalist, is facing heat from the ombudsman.
The latest complaint Shah received was from a former Ranji cricketer from Tamil Nadu. In his letter dated January 31 to Shah, S. Srinivason raised allegations against two key officials of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
“K.S. Viswanathan, an employee of India Cements Limited, is currently secretary of the TNCA and he is also the director of IPL team, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. R.I. Palani, an employee of India Cements Limited is the TNCA joint secretary. He is one of the key promoters and owners of Chennai St. Bede’s Sports Foundation. St. Bede’s is a cricket academy which coaches youngsters of various age groups,” Srinivason wrote.
Upon receiving the complaint, the ombudsman had sought further clarifications from Srinivason with a note saying “Please also note that the conflict of interest rules do not apply retrospectively, and will not apply to allegations of past affiliations, or affiliations to organisations or entities that no longer exist.”
However, following Srinivason’s second letter, Shah forwarded the complaint to the BCCI asking it to provide its response within two weeks (by February 15).
Every complaint shall be decided by the ombudsman within a period of 30 days from the receipt of the complaint. The decision of the ombudsman will be final and binding.
It’s understood that the Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Brijesh Patel, Hyderabad Cricket Association president Arshad Ayub, HCA secretary John Manoj and Mumbai Cricket Association vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar have also been running academies for many years.
