Iyer names Ganguly as DC mentor, raises question on conflict of interest

The BCCI president had been an adviser with the Delhi team last year

shreyas-iyer-dc-ipl Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer | PTI

Shreyas Iyer considers himself lucky to have great mentors who have guided him in his cricketing journey. But the comments made by the young captain of Delhi Capitals has raised eyebrows regarding BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s role in the same.

Before the start of the Indian Premier League match against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, Delhi Capitals’ skipper, who won the toss, told commentator Simon Doull that he was really lucky to have Ricky Ponting and Ganguly, who had been an adviser with the Delhi team last year, as mentors.

A report in Times of India quoted franchise owners and board members that Iyer specifically mentioned Ganguly as part of the unit that helped him this year.

Iyer had said, “As a captain, you need a very good temperament and I think I’ve gained that over the years. Obviously, when you have the likes of Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly around you, they make your job easy.

“And I’m really lucky to be having them around me right now,” Iyer added.

Franchise owners said that the DC skipper didn’t credit Ganguly in general as he was with Delhi Capitals last year, the ToI report said.

As president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Ganguly is not expected to be associated with any one franchise and his supposed involvement with the Delhi team has raised fresh queries about conflict of interest.

In addition, JSW Cement, a part of the JSW Group that is also the Delhi Capitals’ principal sponsor, had appointed the former India captain as its brand ambassador in June.

Ganguly and other former Indian cricketers and administrators had previously  been served with conflict of interest notices by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.

On September 1, Gupta had filed a complaint under BCCI Rule 39(2)(b) against Ganguly of breaching Rule 38(4) with the Board’s Ethics Officer and had cited the association between Ganguly and JSW Cement.

(With inputs)

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