A conflict of interest is a conflict of interest...whether Sunny Gavaskar criticizes Shikhar Dhawan or not is secondary. A conflict of interest situation created itself alludes to bias and favouritism and this should be avoided at all costs. I have been the game's avid follower for over 3 1/2 decades and what saddens me is that for BCCI anything and everything is ok if it meets their commercial interests. This has diluted the classicism and purity of the game.
There is a clear conflict of interest. I am a great fan of Gavaskar and I had clearly spotted that he is never critical of Shikhar Dhawan. In fact I had been wondering that why he doesn't criticise Dhawan even when he is batting poorly. I actually did not know that his company manages Dhawan.
This clearly shows that his bias towards Dhawan was out in the open and quite palpable...Well written article.
Re: Definite conflict of interest
by Sudhir Bisht on Jun 14, 2017 01:01 PM
Thank you very much. At least one reader has appreciated my research. Thanks a ton
"Gavaskar has taken it as a personal affront. He believes Guha is questioning his integrity."
As a child, I watched and admired Gavaskar's batting and he is a hero to me. But I am afraid the conflict of interest issue is a real one. After reading Gavaskar's response, I really lost some respect for him. He is either ignorant and doesn't understand what conflict of interest means... Or he knows it and hence being defensive. Either way, it doesn't cut ice with me.
Re: But no financials r involved
by Ravi Iyer on Jun 29, 2017 11:04 AM
Of course there are financials involved...Gavaskar gets paid as a commentator and earns via his enterprise as well...
in india the conflict of interest is so rampant in all walks of life that many of us fail to realize or understand a situation of conflict of interest. There are many sayings in many indian language indicating that it is but natural for a person to enjoy benefits of a thing even if he is assigned to be a trustee of the same. we have many teachers assessing papers of their family members or let examiners know that a specific no is for their relatives etc. in politics the dynastic trends are so obvious for any body to see. as such if gavaskar does not understand the COI it is not his fault but because since his child hood he has seen that it is a way life. if you see any cabinet meeting in many governments in states of india, decisions affecting many ministers are taken by the cabinet of which the minister is a member!!!! many tenders are directly given to relatives of ministers by minister himself and every body accepts it as a way of life!!!! that there is no COI. In gavaskar's case the COI is so subtle that he may think that it is not there at all though he has such a good command over english and uses many finer shades of the language in his commentary
Mr Bisht i fail to understand where is the the conflict , Question is can Gavaskar influence selectors , does he have any business ties with the selectors , Sunny praising Dhawan didn't help Dhawan being dropped from Indian Test Team or the T20 team ?? Was Rishabh Pant (Deserving) selected for the ongoing CT ?? Sarfaraz Khan last year could not get a regular IPL birth at RCB nether was he selected for any India A or zonal team, Prithvi Shaw couldn't even land an IPL contact , so much so for Sunny influencing things, whatever biases/preferences BCCI commentators say on air in the end amounts to nothing concrete apart from pleasing or angering the viewers. If chairman of selectors MSK Prasad ran PMG then that would constitute a conflict of interest. Eagerly awaiting your reply
Re: There is no conflict
by Srinivas on Jun 05, 2017 09:01 PM
As a legendary former player and a respected commentator, Gavaskar's views/ opinions can make a difference to the Board and Selectors.
Conflict of Interest is defined by the Supreme Court as not just influencing your desired outcome, but being in a "position to influence" and that is not a good thing.
Re: There is no conflict
by Sudhir Bisht on Jun 05, 2017 10:46 PM
Conflict of interest is at two levels. 1- If Sunny makes harsh comments about say, Dhawan, it would be in conflict with the objective of Gavaskar who is supposed to enhance the image of the player as his agent PMG. 2- If Sunny the PMG man allows his role of player promoter to overshadow his role as a commentator, then he would be doing injustice to his role as a fair commentator. Remember Lala Amarnath as commentator when Mohinder and Surendra used to play. Lala ji would keep singing their praises.
Re: Re: There is no conflict
by jayaesh on Jun 05, 2017 11:51 PM
Gavaskar tarnishing / enhancing the image of Dhawan is immaterial because if you go by social networking sites and popular Cricket websites Dhawan is a vastly disliked Cricketer and most fans blame his good friend Virat Kohli for keeping Shikhar in the team ,Isn't Kohli and Dhawan both being good friends and coming from Delhi constitute a conflict of interest on Kohli's part ?? if people like Gavaskar are doing injustice to there role as a commentator then it is the BCCI's prerogative to fire him , BTW Sunny has on many occasions wholeheartedly praised KL Rahul who replaced Dhawan saying he has all the tools to be a permanent opener .
Re: Re: Re: There is no conflict
by Srinivas on Jun 06, 2017 12:08 PM
How incredibly naive of you ! Dhawan being liked or disliked is immaterial.
What is material is that Gavaskar is in a position to influence the powers that be (again it is immaterial whether he actually uses that influence) and that constitutes Conflict of Interest.
Talking of BCCIs' prerogative to fire Gavaskar doesn't mean anything, because the BCCI is a very cushy coterie.
Re: Re: Re: Re: There is no conflict
by jayaesh on Jun 06, 2017 07:44 PM
Hey Srinivasan you didn't answer my question regarding whether Captain Virat Kohli is in conflict of interest or not since he is good friends and comes from the same City as Delhi ?? Gavaskar or any commentator by virtue of what they say on air can only influence the TV viewers and not the selectors , unless Gavaskar has some private dealings with the selectors, point i am making is being a BCCI commentator is not enough to establish a conflict of interest .
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: There is no conflict
by jayaesh on Jun 06, 2017 07:47 PM
correction : i meant whether Captain Virat Kohli is in conflict of interest or not since he is good friends and comes from the same City as Shikhar Dhawan ??
Re: There is no conflict
by sriramji venkat on Jun 29, 2017 05:54 PM
Yes Jayeesh is true. Gavaskar is only doing only commentary and he has not involved himself in getting the players selected or dropped from the team
Mr Bisht i fail to understand where is the the conflict , Question is can Gavaskar influence selectors , does he have any business ties with the selectors , Sunny praising Dhawan didn't help Dhawan being dropped from Indian Test Team or the T20 team ?? Was Rishabh Pant (Deserving) selected for the ongoing CT ?? Sarfaraz Khan last year could not get a regular IPL birth at RCB nether was he selected for any India A or zonal team, Prithvi Shaw couldn't even land an IPL contact , so much so for Sunny influencing things, whatever biases/preferences BCCI commentators say on air in the end amounts to nothing concrete apart from pleasing or angering the viewers. If chairman of selectors MSK Prasad ran PMG then that would constitute a conflict of interest. Eagerly awaiting your reply
Mr Bisht i fail to understand where is the the conflict , Question is can Gavaskar influence selectors , does he have any business ties with the selectors , Sunny praising Dhawan didn't help Dhawan being dropped from Indian Test Team or the T20 team ?? Was Rishabh Pant (Deserving) selected for the ongoing CT ?? Sarfaraz Khan last year could not get a regular IPL birth at RCB nether was he selected for any India A or zonal team, Prithvi Shaw couldn't even land an IPL contact , so much so for Sunny influencing things, whatever biases/preferences BCCI commentators say on air in the end amounts to nothing concrete apart from pleasing or angering the viewers. If chairman of selectors MSK Prasad ran PMG then that would constitute a conflict of interest. Eagerly awaiting your reply
