Anil Kumble has played down the conflict of interest charges against Indian cricketers saying that every profession has conflicts and it comes down to how an individual deals with it.
“I think every profession has conflicts in every walk of life. How you deal with it, how you disclose those prior that what you are involved in, I think it is very critical. And once people know that you are involved in so and so, then I don’t think there is any conflict,” Kumble told ANI.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid received a notice from the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Ethics Officer DK Jain regarding conflict of interest. Dravid is the Head of the National Cricket Academy and also a vice president of India Cements, a company that owns Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings.
Kumble lamented how the conflict of interest cases prevent the few cricketers who have played for India to contribute to the game.
“It’s unfortunate that every cricketer only has to deal with conflict and you know it’s something unfortunate that only a few of them can only contribute. There are only a few cricketers who have played for India.
“There are only 300 as of now and out of 300, I guess 50 percent of them are living. So, only those can contribute back to the game. If you don’t want them to contribute back to the game, then I think you need to find somebody else to contribute in cricket,” he said.
Other cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman also faced conflict of interest charges for their dual roles as members of the Cricket Advisory Committee and mentors at IPL franchises.