COA member Diana Edulji expresses dissent over conflict of interest clearance of Kapil Dev-led CAC

New Delhi: Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji on Monday expressed her dissent but was overruled 2-1, clearing the Kapil Dev-led panel of conflict of interest and paving the way for them to appoint the next Indian men’s coach. Edulji’s opinion was at variance with committee chairman Vinod Rai and her other colleague Lt Gen (Retd) Ravi Thodge. [caption id=“attachment_3350460” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Diana Edulji. AFP[/caption] “It was a 2-1 call (against me). I said it has to go to the Ethics Officer (DK Jain) to decide on conflict of interest. Ad-Hoc committee is not in the constitution. As such I have voiced my dissent,” Edulji told PTI after the CoA meeting. A section in BCCI, however, questioned Edulji’s intention. The new ad-hoc Cricket Advisory Committee, headed by Kapil and two others in Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad, also selected the women’s coach and Edulji had protested calling the formation of the committee and WV Raman’s appointment illegal. It has been learnt from sources that even during an earlier meeting of CoA, Edulji opposed formation of CAC under the legendary Kapil’s chairmanship and wanted current incumbent Ravi Shastri to continue till elections. “It is not CoA’s domain to decide who is conflicted or not. It has to be done by the Ethics Officer. I stick to my earlier stand (when Raman was appointed). An ad-hoc committee cannot pick the coach. It is not in the constitution,” Edulji further added. However a top BCCI official, who is clearly aware of what happened in an earlier meeting alleged on her repeated insistence to continue with Ravi Shastri till BCCI elections. “During the last meeting, one of the CoA members didn’t want this committee to be formed. He or she might have had some reservations about Shastri’s re-appointment. There is a school of thought if Shastri is now appointed for two years, he can’t be removed from the position even if BCCI elections are held,” the senior official said. “It could well be possible that if Ravi is given an ad-hoc extension till the elections, the new group coming to power in BCCI would have the authority to consider his re-appointment. “It’s an open secret that one of the CoA members is currently aligned to the faction of a powerful former BCCI president. It needs to be ascertained whether that individual has been promised a seat in apex council or not,” the official said.