Former India middle-order batter Sandeep Patil has had a complaint filed against him over a potential conflict of interests within the Mumbai Cricket Association’s workings. The allegation has been made over the veteran cricketer after filing his papers for the president’s post at the MCA, which represents and oversees domestic powerhouse Mumbai at the senior domestic level.
Notably, the complaint has been filed by Sanjay Naik, MCA’s joint secretary, who feels Patil joining the race to bag the presidential post within the state association could present a conflict since he has relations with MCA’s chief selector Salil Ankola.
“The complainant submits that the Respondent (Patil) here is not eligible and/or qualified for submitting his nomination form for (the) Post of President and/or a member of Apex Council of MCA, as the Respondent is not eligible and/or disqualified under Rule 38(v) (Conflict of Interest) of the constitution of the MCA (sic),”
said Naik in his complaint, as unveiled by a Cricbuzz report.
In his 13-page complaint letter addressing the MCA Ombudsman, Naik put forth the connection between Patil and Ankola, stating that the latter’s daughter Sana Ankola is also the daughter-in-law of the former, which he feels could lead to a conflict of interest in deciding the next man at the helm of the president’s post.
“The daughter of said Mr Salil is the daughter-in-law of the Respondent herein, therefore there is close relation between the Respondent and the daughter-in-law of Mr Salil Ankola, i.e. the chairman of the said committee and thus the same is clearly in Conflict of Interest as defined under Rule 38 (v) of the said constitution of MCA (sic),”
Naik wrote to Ombudsman Dilip Bhosle.
The 65-year-old Patil, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning side, represented the country in 29 Tests and 45 ODIs and is one of the legends of Mumbai cricket. A former India chief selector, Patil filed his nomination for the MCA president’s post along with his group from the Sharad Pawar panel.
It is believed if Patil’s nomination does pass the test of complaint made against him, the stalwart would face stiff competition for the president’s post from Ashish Shelar, who is an MLA from Mumbai. Shelar is also in the process of forming his own group against the Pawar panel.
The MCA elections, to be held on October 20, are thus being considered a one-on-one battle between Shelar and Pawar to bag the top post with MCA, hailed as one of the most powerful state cricket associations in the country.
When Cricbuzz contacted a member of the Patil group claimed it was Naik, the complainant in this case, who had played a big role in the appointment of Ankola as the chief selector. However, that in point, there was no case of potential conflict since Patil wasn’t part of the MCA workings in any post.
Interestingly, Patil’s election as president has not yet come to fruition and it is also not confirmed whether Ankola would retain his chief selector’s role after the election.
Patil has refused to make a comment on the matter and is backing the Ombudsman to take the right decision.
“Why should I comment on the complaint. Everyone has a right to contest and a right to complain.”
he told Cricbuzz.
“Ombudsman or the Election Officer, they need to take the call on the complaint and I have confidence in their abilities to rightly adjudicate the matter. The Pawar Group stand is not to comment on the complaint.”
