BCCI’s cricket clean-up: Player-agents must be accredited, code of ethics to follow
When MS Dhoni was skipper, players flocked to his agent. a similar trend is being now being witnessed with Virat Kohli taking over as the Test skipper. (Source: Express File)
From now on, only the BCCI-accredited agents will be allowed to deal with the contracted and non-contracted players. This follows the cricket board’s decision to put a player-agent accreditation system in place.
This is another step towards cleaning up the game, which comes on the heels of ‘conflict of interest’ declaration for all state association office bearers and BCCI functionaries.
A few days ago, this paper reported about India Test captain Virat Kohli’s association with Cornerstone, a company that also manages five of his team mates; Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan.
In addition, Kohli’s chain of fitness centres, Chisel, and clothing line, Wrogn, have been launched in collaboration with CSE Consulting, a sister concern of Cornerstone.
Earlier, MS Dhoni, too, had come under sharp attack for his alleged conflict of interest for reportedly having 15 per cent stake in Rhiti Sports, an agency that had Suresh Raina, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja under its wings. By introducing the player agent accreditation system, the BCCI intends put to an end to such controversies.
Keeping a close watch on the people who have had business links with the players is also high on agenda. In 2010, during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, controversy broke out after a middle-order batsman had been spotted with a woman on several occasions. The woman was said to be working on behalf of a player agent.
The ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) was investigating the affair and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), too, had sent a report to its Indian counterpart. But the BCCI refused to act on it, terming media reports as “totally baseless and false”.
The Indian cricket board, under its present dispensation, appears to be keen to right the wrongs. It wants to make things transparent. Two years ago, as BCCI’s interim head, Dalmiya had urged his colleagues to undertake a 12-point programme to clean-up cricket. Accreditation for player agents featured in the list.
The board, however, put the clean-up initiative on the back-burner once the veteran administrator left office. Back in a full-time capacity, Dalmiya is determined to implement the clauses. “In order to make the structure thorough enough and to ensure that player agents are bound by the set of laws and the code of conduct, a thorough and extensive Player Agent Accreditation System would be in place soon,” he said.
According to a source, Dalmiya has separately written to the members of the IPL working group; Anurag Thakur, Rajeev Shukla, Sourav Ganguly and UN Banerjee; to set the guidelines for the agents — eligibility criteria and the formal process to get the accreditation. The BCCI president expects a response by August 5.
The agents, meanwhile, have taken the developments positively. “A Fifa-accredited agent has to pass a written exam to qualify. It’s for the BCCI to decide the terms of reference but I think they can follow the Fifa model. The best thing is that they’ve decided to introduce it. We would have liked to have it earlier, but better late than never,” Cornerstone Sport CEO Bunty Sajdeh told The Indian Express.
“This is a move in the right direction. Through this system the BCCI can do a proper background check of the companies that will do business with its players. The company profile will be in public domain, so the cricket board can monitor everything. The present system, with very little checks and cross-checks, offers enough scope for confusion. The player agent accreditation system will make things transparent from the cricketers’ point of view as well,” he added.
Rhiti Sports founder president Arun Pandey concurred. “I welcome the initiative. Everyone who’s associated with cricket should be accountable to the game. The BCCI is doing this for sake of transparency and I believe things will be a lot more transparent once the system is in place. As a player agent, I’m ready to comply with the BCCI rules and guidelines,” he said.
Code of ethics
The BCCI is also in the process of preparing a code of ethics for everyone who’s part of the set-up. “The code would describe the minimum requirements for conduct and behavioural expectations. To ensure transparency, BCCI would get the draft ethics code vetted and finalised by an eminent senior lawyer with impeccable credibility and reputation,” secretary Anurag Thakur said.
According to a top BCCI official, it’s about restoring credibility. “We’ve already addressed the conflict of interest issue. The code of ethics will ensure that no one can bring disrepute to the organisation.”
