Just not cricket: Shastri-Kohli tennis tie enters conflict-of-interest court

INDIA'S TEST CAPTAIN Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri have recently been in the news for something beyond cricket. While Kohli has become a co-owner of the IPTL franchise UAE Royals, Shastri has been named advisor to the same team.

This brings us to yet another possible case of ‘conflict of interest’ – a term so vaguely misinterpreted in the realms of sport. On one hand, the Supreme Court is finally trying to clean up the sport that has been dirtied by N Srinivasan’s unashamed misuse of powers. On the other, tie-ups such as the one between Shastri and Kohli raise plenty of questions.

Firstly, the fact that the Indian team director is now involved in a commercial relationship with the man who captains the Indian cricket team is a bit strange. It is unknown whether they have discussed any sort of financial alliance between them, but it is obvious that their services will not be utilised for free. When questioned about this new deal, Shastri was quick to dismiss any conflict of interest, as it has nothing to do with cricket.

“Not at all. What has that got to do with cricket? This is trying to get a team culture going among people who play individual sports. And team branding. Conflict of interest may be if Virat or other stakeholders are Indian tennis captains,” Shastri wrote in a text message sent to The Indian Express.

Secondly, Shastri’s tenure as the Royals’ advisor begins at a time when India plays one of their most important home series against South Africa. How is he then going to prioritize his roles – that of mentoring the Indian team, or teaching ‘teamwork’ to the Royals? Does the BCCI not have a clause that bars their professionals from undertaking any conflicting assignment?

Just over two months ago, the BCCI had asked the state associations and players to sign a ‘No Conflict of Interest’ undertaking, where BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had detailed the nature of this term.

“Conflict of interest is not about beliefs or biases. It is about a person’s roles and relationship, and the tendency or apprehension of bias that assumes to exist when duties, decisions or action conflicts. Deciding that someone has a conflict of interest is a description of a situation, not a judgment about that person or her actual beliefs,” he wrote in an official letter in July.

When asked about this partnership between Shastri and Kohli, Thakur said that the board will definitely have a word with the concerned parties. At a time when the board is keen to resolve long-standing issues pertaining to conflict of interest, this new IPTL association is likely to come under scrutiny.

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