Sourav Ganguly has soccer membership hyperlink with new IPL franchise proprietor

BCCI PRESIDENT Sourav Ganguly is dealing with new questions of battle of curiosity because the co-owner of a soccer crew together with Sanjiv Goenka whose RPSG Ventures Ltd made a profitable bid of Rs 7,090 crore for the Lucknow IPL franchise on the high-stakes public sale in Dubai on Monday.
According to Indian Super League (ISL) soccer membership ATK Mohun Bagan’s official web site, Ganguly is a member of its Board of Directors with Goenka as chairman. “The team was owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. consisting of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, alongside businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, and Utsav Parekh,” the web site states.
Speaking to The Indian Express on situation of anonymity, a senior BCCI member confirmed that it was “a clear case of conflict”. “Ganguly is the president, he needs to understand. This is not the first time that he has been in this situation,” the member stated.
Goenka and Ganguly didn’t reply to calls from The Indian Express and textual content messages with queries on the conflict-of-interest problem.
In an interview Tuesday with CNBC TV18, responding to a query on whether or not his affiliation with Ganguly may elevate potential battle of-interest, Goenka stated: “Well, I think he (Ganguly) is going to step down from Mohun Bagan completely.” Asked when that might occur, he stated: “I think today.” Goenka then stated: “That is for Sourav to make the announcement. Sorry, I pre-empted it.”

Till late Tuesday night time, there was no official announcement from the previous India cricket captain about his future with ATK Mohun Bagan.

Even if Ganguly steps away from the soccer membership, questions should be raised over his involvement within the franchise public sale course of as BCCI president regardless of his soccer affiliation with one of many bidders.
Ganguly has been BCCI president since 2019 and has a say in all necessary choices taken by the board. In the redrafted BCCI structure following instructions from the Supreme Court, the Justice RM Lodha committee listed a number of potential associations that got here beneath the battle of curiosity purview.
“When the BCCI, a member, the IPL or a franchisee enter into contractual agreement with entities in which the individual concerned or his/her relative, partner or close associate has an interest. This is to include cases where family members, partners or close associates are in positions that may, or may be seen to compromise an individual’s participation, performance and discharge of roles,” it states.
This isn’t the primary time Ganguly has confronted questions over battle of curiosity.

Last yr, he had put out an Instagram put up carrying a JSW Cement (Jindal Steel Works) T-shirt and claiming to be “at work” as the corporate’s model ambassador. JSW Sports, a wing of the enterprise conglomerate JSW Group, is the joint proprietor of IPL’s Delhi Capitals.
At the time, Ganguly, who had additionally been a mentor of Delhi Capitals up to now, insisted that his new function as model ambassador of JSW Cement didn’t overlap along with his duties as BCCI president.
Later, a proper grievance was filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a former Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) member, however the matter is but to be heard. The BCCI, by the way, hasn’t appointed a brand new Ombudsman and Ethics Officer after Justice D Okay Jain’s time period resulted in June 2021.