Sachin Tendulkar rejects BCCI's 'conflict of interest' observation

Sachin Tendulkar rejected the observation made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), regarding his 'conflict of interest' matter, in his 13-point reply to BCCI Ethics Officer DK Jain.

Moreover, Tendulkar has requested Jain to call upon the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri to "clarify their position."

"Without prejudice to the aforesaid, the Noticee submits that it is surprising that the BCCI, being the very authority responsible for the Noticees empanelment to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), is presently taking a position that the Noticee is exposed to an alleged conflict of interest. It is reiterated that, the Noticee was declared as the Mumbai Indians ICON post his retirement in 2013, which was much prior to his appointment to the CAC in 2015," reads the response of Tendulkar.

"The BCCI Response does not clarify this variance in its stance and the Noticee requests the Honble Ethics Officer to call upon BCCI Officials, Mr. Rahul Johri and Mr. Vinod Rai to clarify this position," the reply further reads.

Tendulkar's response also added that a mentor or an ICON is not covered in the definition of a Team Official and his role is limited to providing guidance, inputs and inspiration to the younger team members.

"A mentor or an ICON is not covered in the definition of a Team Official. This becomes even more obvious from the fact that the definition requires an individual to be involved with a Team or a Franchisee in an official capacity. The Noticee reiterates he does not hold any official position with the Franchise. His role is limited to providing guidance, inputs and inspiration to the younger team members," reads his response.