Kapil Dev panel gets green light, new coach to be picked soon

New Delhi: The Kapil Dev-led Cricket Advisory Committee was on Monday cleared of any conflict of interest by the Committee of Administrators (COA), paving the way for the panel to appoint India’s next men’s coach by mid-August.

Besides the country’s first World Cup-wining skipper Dev, the newly-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprises Anshuman Gaekwad and former women’s captain Shantha Rangaswamy.

“We have checked (the declaration form). It is fine. All clear,” COA chief Vinod Rai said when asked if the CAC has got the mandate to appoint the next chief coach.

However, one of the committee members Diana Edulji, who has consistently been at loggerheads with chairman Vinod Rai and Lt Gen (Retd) Ravi Thodge, expressed her dissent, stating that CoA had no authority to appoint an ad-hoc committee and clear it of conflict.

“It was a 2-1 call (against me). I said it has to go to the Ethics Officer (DK Jain) to decide on conflict of interest. Ad-Hoc committee is not in the constitution. As such I have voiced my dissent,” Edulji said.

“It is not CoA’s domain to decide who is conflicted or not. It has to be done by the Ethics Officer. I stick to my earlier stand (when Raman was appointed). An ad-hoc committee cannot pick the coach. It is not in the constitution,” Edulji added.

The current support staff comprising incumbent head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R Sridhar were given a 45-day extension following the World Cup, covering the ongoing West Indies tour from August 3 to September 3.

The trio of Dev, Gaekwad and Shantha, then called an ad-hoc committee, had appointed WV Raman as the women’s team coach in December. Regarding the conduct of BCCI elections on October 22.