Conflict of interest?: BCCI chief Ganguly has links with IPL Lucknow owner

In a clear case of conflict of interest, Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has been reported of being a co-owner of a football team owned by businessman Sanjiv Goenka, whose RPSG Ventures on Monday paid ₹7,090 crore to win the new Lucknow franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While Goenka is the chairman, Ganguly is a member of the board of directors of the Indian Super League (ISL) football club ATK Mohun Bagan, confirms the club’s website. The team is owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. and also has businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia and Utsav Parekh on its board of directors.

While questions, reportedly also from the BCCI’s inner quarters, are being raised on its president’s association with the football club, Goenka in an interview with CNBC TV18 on Tuesday hinted that the former Indian captain may permanently step down from the board of directors.

“That is for Sourav to make the announcement. Sorry, I pre-empted it,” Goenka said after stating that Ganguly may resign on Tuesday itself.

There, however, there has been no announcement on the BCCI president’s resignation from the football team so far.

Also read: Why Lucknow? RPSG’s Goenka has all the answers for his record IPL bid

Reports say, even though Ganguly puts in his papers, questions will be still raised for his active participation in the auction of the IPL team despite his association with one of the bidders.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Ganguly is facing questions over conflict of interest. Last year he had endorsed Jindal Steel Works Cement by wearing a JSW t-shirt in an Instagram Post. JSW Sports, an arm of JSW Group is the co-owner of Delhi Capitals team of the IPL. Ganguly, however, had brushed off criticisms for his act by saying that his being the brand ambassador of JSW Cement had nothing to do with his job as the BCCI president.

Even though a complaint in this regard was filed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association Sanjeev Gupta, the case is yet to come up for hearing.