All in the family
A look at the other instances of conflict of interest within the BCCI
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Jan-2015
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has ties to the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab franchises • AFP
The Supreme Court order on Thursday dwelt at length on the conflict of interest between N Srinivasan heading the BCCI and owning an IPL franchise. However, Srinivasan's is not the only instance - merely the most high-profile - of the BCCI's clubbiness and its preference for keeping plum positions in-house. Here are other examples:
Lalit Modi (IPL chairman till 2010):
- Suresh Chellaram, Lalit Modi's brother-in-law, is one of the co-owners of the Rajasthan Royals franchise through a stake in Jaipur IPL Private Limited, which owns the franchise, and is also a director of the company
- Mohit Burman, one of the promoters of the Dabur group - an Indian company manufacturing Ayurvedic products - and a co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, is also linked to Lalit Modi. Mohit's brother Gaurav is Modi's step son-in-law. In 2008, Mohit had told the Indian Express that the IPL was a business opportunity and "the relationship with Modi is a mere coincidence."
IS Bindra (former BCCI president, headed the Punjab Cricket Association till 2014)
- In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in April 2014, Srinivasan said Bindra's son Amar had been an employee of Nimbus, which owned the BCCI TV rights between 2006 and 2011. Bindra, and Modi were on the committee that decided that Nimbus' license fee should be reduced by Rs.255 crores.
- Amar Bindra was also a managerial consultant of the Kings XI Punjab franchise even as his father was part of the IPL governing council.
Sharad Pawar (BCCI president 2005-2008):
- Sadanand Sule, Sharad Pawar's son-in-law, had a stake in Multi Screen Media, which owns the broadcast rights to the IPL. Pawar's daughter Supriya has said her husband inherited the stake from his father, who had been chairman of Sony, MSM's parent company.