Gavaskar, Shastri deny BCCI contract is a conflict of interest - The Times of India
This newspaper can also reveal that the BCCI contract stipulates that any channel which is telecasting an international match on Indian soil will hire these two men on their commentary team. A similar contract, for a lower fee, had been signed with Harsha Bhogle too but was subsequently cancelled because then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had not taken permission from the IPL Governing Council.
"Yes, both Shastri and Gavaskar are employed with the Board as commentators," a top BCCI official confirmed to Mumbai Mirror. "This pertains to all BCCI-owned cricket - international matches held in India, the IPL and the Champions League. We tell the
TV companies that they have to take them on board as our official commentators."
When contacted, both Gavaskar and Shastri accepted they were centrally contracted by the Board, but did not see this as a conflict of interest, or as something that hampered them from freely airing their views.
Reacting to the revelation, respected media commentator Santosh Desai said: "There is no
business for such people to be in the commentary box. But the scenario is hardly surprising, considering the BCCI works like a banana republic for which conflict of interest has never been an issue; in fact it actively creates them. I see this as a larger nexus between the Board, the commentators and the TV broadcasters. The onus has to be on individuals, especially if they are iconic sportsmen, to set an example and not become part of this co-option for personal gain."
Twitter / rajneesh kapoor: Has Gavaskar commented on ...