BCCI dismisses 'erroneous' conflict of interest charges against Laxman

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday quashed charges of conflict of interest levelled against VVS Laxman, insisting that the former batsman was in no such position when the three-member cricket advisory committee was assigned the task of selecting the head coach of India.

Reports started surfacing that Laxman held 33,332 shares in Tenvic Sports Education Private Limited, which is owned by former leg-spinner and current head coach Anil Kumble, and was also entitled to a substantial amount of money in the form of incentives, bonus and other benefits at the time of the selection.

Kumble was among 57 applicants who applied for the position earlier this month. He was picked by the CAC, comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman, last week after being included in the shortlist of 21 names.

However, the sport's governing body wasted no time in dismissing these reports. "Mr Laxman informed BCCI that he had sold his total shareholding of 5% in Tenvic Sport in the month of March 2016 and also declared that he no longer held any shareholding or any official or unofficial position in Tenvic Sports," BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke said in a release.

"This took place prior to the commencement of the operations of this Committee. Mr Laxman was therefore in no position of a conflict of interest at the time of selection of the head coach of Indian cricket team. All assumptions and conclusions to that effect are therefore erroneous," he added.