Rahul Dravid has suggested he got dragged into the conflict of interest issue despite doing what the Board of Control for Cricket in India advised him to do before taking up the job at the National Cricket Academy, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The former India captain is set to depose before BCCI Ethics Officer DK Jain on Thursday to explain the conflict of interest allegations against him.
Dravid is currently the Director of the NCA in Bengaluru, besides being a vice-president in the India Cements group, which owns the Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings.
The 46-year-old was the head coach of the India A and Under-19 teams before being handed the NCA role, which includes monitoring the progress of these two sides as well.
The complaint against Dravid by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta claims that there is conflict in interest in Dravid’s role as NCA head while being an India Cements employee.
Dravid had already given a reply and defended himself saying he has taken leave of absence from his employers, India Cements, and he has nothing to do with Chennai Super Kings. And as it turns out, he was advised by the BCCI itself that a leave of absence would be enough to allow him to work at the NCA.
“It is a leave of absence, which is what I had been asked to do at that stage. I will appear with my lawyer and represent my own case,” Dravid was quoted as saying in the report.
As per the BCCI constitution, no individual can hold more than one post at the same time. The BCCI Ethics Officer would give his judgement based on the hearing on Thursday.