Manchester United have unearthed plenty of talent through their famous academy over the years.

From the days of Paul Scholes to the current batch, including Alejandro Garnacho, the Red Devils have and always will rely on the youth to perform.

The late 2010s didn’t see a huge amount of players make their way from the youth setup to the first team and have long-term success, but one individual stands out.

Whether it has been Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and now Erik ten Hag in charge, the Carrington graduate has been a favourite.

Scott McTominay’s early days at United

Scott McTominay has been United through and through having been on their books since the age of five.

The midfielder continued to develop and climb up the youth ranks, but one thing that didn’t grow was his height, as at 18 years old, the Scotland international stood at just 5 foot 6.

Between then and his debut against Arsenal in 2017, the midfielder grew ten inches, with his physicality being one of his biggest attributes today, as per Pep Guardiola.

While it was Mourinho who gave the midfielder his chance to shine, Solskjaer’s appointment as the United boss was the turning point in McTominay’s career, with the number 39 becoming a key player in the Norwegian’s side – having been dubbed a "physical monster" by the treble winner.

Scott McTominay under Erik ten Hag

Fast forward to the arrival of Ten Hag, and McTominay’s inclusion in the starting XI had decreased significantly, starting just ten matches last season in the league.

This ultimately led to plenty of transfer talk regarding the 27-year-old's future at his boyhood club, with Everton being the favourites to sign him last summer, when he was estimated to be worth around £21m, a £9m decrease from his worth two years prior.

However, this season, the energetic engine has been influential in the final third, with Diogo Dalot calling the midfielder “clutch” for all the late goals he has scored as of late, including the winner against Aston Villa at the weekend.

McTominay

7

Alejandro Garnacho

5

Marcus Rashford

5

Rasmus Hojlund

5

Bruno Fernandes

3

As you can see, McTominay “loves a goal," as per United legend Rio Ferdinand, and he is enjoying his best-scoring Premier League campaign of his career, while also being the club's highest scorer in the top flight.

The addition of goals to his game has boosted his estimated value significantly, with plenty of clubs on the lookout for a midfielder who can affect the game in the final third while also covering multiple midfield roles.

According to CIES Football Observatory, the £60k-per-week ace is estimated to be worth €50m (£43m), meaning United certainly hit the jackpot with the 6 foot 4 maestro.

If Ten Hag did decide to cash in on the academy star this summer, the club would be looking at 100% profit from the sale due to him costing £0, which would provide plenty of funds for summer signings.

Equally, the academy graduate could well stay put at Old Trafford and continue to produce such crucial 'clutch' moments under the Dutchman's watch.

You can disagree with the solution the ECB have come up with, but you can’t fault the urgency

Andrew Miller03-Oct-2019Cricket’s administrators love a good warehouse, don’t they? From England’s kit launch in the Tobacco Docks in May, to the arrival of the World Cup captains on the set of Dragons’ Den later that month, and now back to that favoured hub of multiculturalism, Brick Lane, where the World Cup countdown had been set in motion back in 2018, the urban-chic metaphors were once again climbing the exposed brick walls as The Hundred took its most decisive step yet into existence.Bedecked with funky lights and blocky fonts to fit the brutalist surroundings, the day’s chosen venue was awash, quite literally, with snackable content. There were casually scattered team-branded helmets on the floors, and actual bowls of crisps and popcorn on every surface, as KP flexed its brand muscles and showed the gathered media that its sponsorship of the ECB’s newest innovation wasn’t merely a chance to have a very public giggle at one of the ECB’s oldest betes noires.But on this, the morning after the night before that was the PCA Awards dinner, England’s icon players looked more in need of bacon than Butterkist – not least the heroically hungover Chris Woakes – as they rocked up to give their collective blessing to cricket’s latest edge towards edginess.ALSO READ: Russell, Maxwell but no de Villiers for main draftThe timing of this event was cruel but apposite for the players, for Woakes’ eyes in particular bore testimony to the japes that had carried on into the small hours at the Roundhouse in Camden, where cricket’s glitzy end-of-season bash had had more than your average summer to celebrate in 2019.And thus, as he fronted up in his new team’s garish orange-and-red kit – a “grower”, as he obligingly put it – Woakes and his partied-out team-mates were already galloping gamely into the brave new world that awaits in the transformative summer of 2020.The Hundred. It Is Coming. And that is a fact which will continue to cleave the sport like a Brexit referendum. For some, this morning’s unveiling was the opening of a new portal to hell; for others (mostly, but not exclusively, in the ECB high command) it was the most concrete development yet in a project that is as exciting as it is agenda-setting and, as some would claim, essential for the long-term health of the game.Jason Roy models the Oval Invincibles’ kit•Getty ImagesAs for the rest of those who know and love the sport in its current guise, the whole shebang remains deeply and uncomfortably conflicting – like the feeling I got as a kid, when Angus Fraser and Robin Smith were dropped for the 1994-95 Ashes tour and I briefly found myself wishing unspeakable and damning ills to befall a team that I could no longer call my own.It didn’t last, of course (my antipathy, that is, not English cricket’s ills – those cracked on for another decade of Ashes misery) and that is the hope, or rather expectation, in and around the sport at this critical juncture.The ECB’s fervent belief is that, once the angst and the anger has subsided by this time next year, all that will remain is a top-class cricket tournament that gives some TLC to a sport that truly does need it – whatever you think of the existing merits of the county structure, and no matter how extraordinarily successful England’s overworked elite players were in framing the zeitgeist this summer.Chris Woakes of Birmingham Phoenix, one of the eight new teams competing in The Hundred•Getty ImagesFor the hosting of the World Cup was a once-in-two-decades opportunity, and the manner in which the trophy was won was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. As in 2005, on the eve of cricket’s disappearance from terrestrial TV, the sport got extraordinarily lucky at precisely the moment it needed it the most, and then as now, the ripple effect will be sufficient to sustain the game for the next five years at least.But after that, where does the sport’s next adrenalin shot come from? For, as the administrators have clumsily tried to explain for the best part of 18 months, this really isn’t about those who already know what they like about cricket. It’s about those who might not otherwise engage with it, but will stumble upon the odd match when they are expecting to see Homes Under The Hammer on the BBC next summer – or who might find themselves listening with unexpected interest to what Eoin Morgan has to say when he pops up on The One Show or Newsround.And, in due course, it will be about those who pop out to the corner shop, or get the round in at the pub, or open their packed lunch on a school outing, and see cricketers being marketed on the backs of their packets of Skips, or Tyrells, or McCoys, or Pom-Bears (the toddlers’ gateway snack). Without wishing to pay undue homage to a corporate giant (or to gloss over its contribution to childhood obesity) it has been easy to overlook quite what leverage The Hundred’s title sponsor can offer to the fledging competition. With that calibre of stable-mate, and regardless of what else happens as this brave new world takes root next summer, it is not going to pass unnoticed.Does any of the above justify the “massive punt”, as Wisden put it, of shredding the fabric of the game to hand over the plum weeks of the English season to eight untested teams, and a format that has been played at a professional level in just a handful of trial runs? Self-evidently not. The only thing that is going to justify The Hundred’s creation is the quality of the competition. On that note, the condensation of eighteen teams to eight, and the who’s-who of international talent (India excepted for the most part, of course) that will make up the draft next month will form the truest means to whet the appetite.ALSO READ: Harbhajan Singh throws hat into Hundred ringThat is not to say, however, that the animosity that already exists will be easily glossed over. I know colleagues who simply will never forgive the betrayal that has brought the game to this point, and as for the gaffe-ridden shambles that has been The Hundred’s PR, it simply beggars belief that so many errors can be made so often by so few. Even Thursday’s pre-announcement “sizzle reel” couldn’t help but join the catastro-shambles, spluttering into three false starts like a petrol-starved Trabant as the assembled media arched those habitually cynical eyebrows once more.But, once again, it’s necessary to stop and breathe, and remember. It’s not about us. It’s not about people who will read this take of The Hundred’s latest developments, and sigh. It’s about people who don’t yet know what they want from a game that has never previously appealed to them, and who won’t instinctively know, for instance, that the Nathan Barley-esque hipster-wibble that screeches out of The Hundred’s vapidly awful website is contrived nonsense.Or is even that another observation that misses the point? Perhaps, as they announced on Thursday afternoon, Welsh Fire’s “hunger will prove the haters wrong” (even those from Somerset and Gloucestershire?). Maybe Manchester Originals are able to “laugh in the face of limits”, maybe Trent Rockets’ “volume [is] up, ready for launch”, whatever TF that means.Joe Root of Trent Rockets, one of the eight new teams that competing in The Hundred•Getty ImagesIt’s scary to look at such witterings objectively and realise that the sport has no option but to wish this new enterprise well, but it seems also that it is a vital part of the process. According to the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, interviewed on the BBC’s Politics Live show on Thursday morning, the world has become so polarised in the social media era that we will “never again” have a shared sense of what is good, bad or downright ugly.And if Haidt’s analysis had in mind global events rather more weighty than a salty-bar-snack-themed cricket competition, then the fury that The Hundred has generated is an interesting test case – and certainly a telling rejoinder to the sort of unequivocal joy that this country felt when Jos Buttler whipped off those bails at Lord’s, or when Ben Stokes belted that drive through the covers at Headingley.We can only hope to feel that sort of communion again, and we surely will given half a chance. But it will not happen if the sport’s relevance in the interim dwindles to vanishing point. That is the point of The Hundred. You can disagree with the solution the ECB have come up with, but you can’t fault the realisation that the status quo is unsustainable.Well, obviously, you can… and you can point out until you are blue in the face the strategic errors that holed the sport beneath the waterline in the early 2000s, and left it relying on miracle matches to keep the sport’s fires burning in the interim. But it’s probably time to start gargling the kool-aid, and accepting that what will be will be. Because this is the chosen path to a brighter future, and there is genuinely no going back from here.

Manchester United outcast Mason Greenwood visited the club's Carrington base on Monday but did not join training with the team.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Greenwood visits Carrington
• Doesn't join in pre-season training
• Discussed exit briefly before leaving

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Greenwood's future at Manchester United has been uncertain since the winger was suspended by the club in January 2022 having been accused of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Although the charges against him were discontinued in February 2023, Greenwood was loaned to La Liga side Getafe last summer and is expected to move on permanently now the transfer window is open again. Following the expiry of his loan, the forward returned to Carrington on Monday but he has not joined United's pre-season training.

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• Getty Images
  

  THE EXPLANATION

  According to , Greenwood attended the training centre to continue working on negotiations regarding his departure from Old Trafford. During a meeting with the club's football leadership team, Greenwood had a positive conversation over carrying on his career elsewhere. The 22-year-old then departed again without joining his Man Utd colleagues on the grass.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Greenwood reportedly has interest from French side Marseille and Serie A side Lazio over a permanent move after Getafe pulled out from the race very early on due to the Red Devils' asking price.

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• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR GREENWOOD?

  As per reports over the past week, the forward has set a deadline for the Red Devils to sort his situation out as he wants to know where he will be plying his trade as clubs begin their pre-season preparations.

West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite, an occasional offspinner whose bowling action has been questioned more than once, has been cleared to bowl in international cricket again following an ICC-approved assessment.Brathwaite had been reported after the second Test between West Indies and India in Kingston earlier this year, with the ICC saying in a statement at the time that the match officials’ report had “cited concerns about the legality of the 26-year-old’s bowling action during the course of the match”.He subsequently underwent a bowling assessment in the ICC-accredited facility in Loughborough on September 14, where, the ICC said in a statement on Tuesday, “it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations”.Brathwaite had earlier been reported for a suspect bowling action in August 2017 following the first Test of West Indies’ tour of England, played at Edgbaston. Then, too, he was tested in Loughborough, and he was subsequently cleared to continue bowling at the highest level.In the West Indies Test side mainly as an opening batsman, Brathwaite has 18 wickets from 58 games at an average of 56.94.

GOAL runs through the top talents prevented from realising their full potential by persistent fitness problems

We sometimes forget how precarious the life of footballer can be. One moment of misfortune can shorten, ruin or even end a career – and there's nothing sadder than seeing a truly exceptional talent sidelined by injury.

Of course, some players are punished for failing to properly look after themselves, while others are just plain unfortunate, cursed with bodies incapable of coping with the rigours of the modern game.

Below, GOAL runs through some of the most high-profile victims of persistent fitness problems, from teenage prodigies prevented from realising their full potential, to stars that simply faded after incessant injury issues…

Getty14Jonathan Woodgate

Woodgate's Real Madrid debut is obviously the stuff of footballing infamy: after spending the first 17 months of his spell at Santiago Bernabeu sidelined by injury, the English defender belatedly introduced himself to the club's supporters with an own goal and a red card for a second bookable offence.

However, there's a reason why Madrid had taken a gamble on Woodgate in the first place: he was, when fully fit, an excellent centre-back – he had proved that during the early days of his breakthrough at Leeds United.

Unfortunately, he never stayed fit long enough to make the most of his obvious ability. There were some highlights along the way, most notably the winning goal for Tottenham in their League Cup win over Chelsea in 2008, but it's telling that he only played 30 or more league games twice between 2000 and 2016.

What really killed him, though, was being restricted to just 14 appearances for Madrid. "When I look back on my career, that gets to me, more than anything," he told the podcast. "Because you’re on the biggest stage… And my body let me down."

AdvertisementGetty13Yoann Gourcuff

After Gourcuff had inspired Bordeaux to a league-and-cup double in 2009, labelled the attacking midfielder 'Le Successeur', Zinedine Zidane's undisputed heir.

Even one of Zizou's former team-mates agreed. "I felt ill when Zidane retired," Christophe Dugarry admitted. "Watching Gourcuff has cured me." Unfortunately, there was no remedy for Gourcuff's many mental and physical issues.

By the time of his rebirth at Bordeaux, he had already flopped at AC Milan, Paolo Maldini argued, because "there was a problem with his behaviour", with the iconic defender castigating the Frenchman for failing to make any kind of effort to integrate.

After then making a historic move to Lyon in 2010, Gourcuff was plagued by injuries, some of which it was argued were psychosomatic. Certainly, some of his coaches and team-mates were never fully convinced by the severity of some of the ailments, which included hurting his hand after getting high-fived by Alexandre Lacazette, and spraining his ankle while walking his dog.

In the end, one of France's finest prospects retired at 34 – after more than a year without a club.

Getty12Abou Diaby

Both Arsenal and France fans were so excited by Diaby's form during his first six months in north London. They all felt that they had 'The new Patrick Vieira' on their hands.

Unfortunately, Diaby never hit those heights. In injury-time at the end of a 3-0 win at Sunderland in May 2006, the midfielder was on the receiving end of a horrendous and completely unnecessary challenge from Dan Smith. Diaby was left screaming on the pitch in agony, having suffered a severe ankle fracture that would require three operations and eight months of rehabilitation.

Diaby eventually returned in January 2007, but not at the same level and ultimately spent more than half of his remaining years at Arsenal sidelined by injury, with former manager Arsene Wenger subsequently stating on that his compatriot's hopes of reaching the very pinnacle of the profession had been "destroyed" by "an assassin's tackle".

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Getty11Louis Saha

Sir Alex Ferguson essentially admitted that he signed Louis Saha from Fulham primarily because every time the Frenchman faced Manchester United, "he gave us a doing".

"Of all the centre-forwards we employed," the legendary manager later wrote in his autobiography, "when you talk about their talents (two-footed, good in the air, spring, speed, power), Saha would be one of the best. He posed a perpetual threat."

Only when fully fit, though. Saha made a sensational start to his Old Trafford career, showing exactly why United had agreed to pay £12.4 million ($15.5m) for his services by scoring seven times in his first 14 appearances.

However, then the injuries began to arrive and Saha felt so bad about his regular spells on the sidelines that he used to text Ferguson apologising for his absences. The Scot was sympathetic to Saha's plight, but eventually allowed Saha to join Everton in 2008.

Ferguson explained, "The reason for selling him was that no matter how talented he was, I could never plan around him."

Hughes hit 112 off 96 balls but New South Wales fell short in their DLS-adjusted chase

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-2019

Western Australia 6 for 210 (Shaun Marsh 82, Nair 2-18) beat New South Wales 7 for 235 (Hughes 112*, Henriques 75, Coulter-Nile 3-47) by eight runs (DLS method)Nathan Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye used all their experience to secure Western Australia a nail-biting eight-run win over New South Wales on the DLS method to put them top of the Marsh Cup table.For much of the afternoon, it looked as though Daniel Hughes would take New South Wales to victory as they chased a DLS target of 244 following a two-hour rain delay during Western Australia’s innings. However, when his 142-run stand with Moises Henriques was broken in the 24th over, the rest of New South Wales’ middle order could not quite keep up the tempo, leaving Hughes’ 112 off 96 balls in vain.Following a sluggish start to the chase, which included Jack Edwards being caught at point, New South Wales were never comfortably ahead of the rate despite the crisp stroke play of Hughes and Henriques, which meant that when wickets started to fall, Western Australia were back in the game.Coulter-Nile had Henriques caught in the deep and then returned to bowl his last two overs in the closing stages, removing Daniel Sams and Nick Bertus in the process as the equation swung further in Western Australia’s favour.It came down to New South Wales needing 14 off the last over and that proved too many against Tye, who conceded just five – despite bowling a wide – and claimed two wickets.Western Australia had been solidly placed at 3 for 151 off 29.5 overs when the rain arrived and it lingered long enough to cause a significant reduction in the contest. On resumption, they did well to make 59 off the remaining 5.1 overs although New South Wales were hampered somewhat with Sean Abbott and Harry Conway having already bowled out.Shaun Marsh had a half-century when the rain came and he added two more sixes to his tally after the break, one a huge pull, which went out of the ground, and the second a one-handed slice over backward point which he played from down on his back knee.Henriques, who was entrusted with two of the death overs, struggled to land his attempted slower balls and was no-balled three times for big full tosses but the umpire did not rule them dangerous deliveries so he was able to continue bowling.

After another nightmare season, Chelsea have already turned their attention towards the summer transfer window and handing Mauricio Pochettino a replacement in the event of some potential exit news for the Argentine.

Chelsea transfer news

The Blues have often been in the headlines due to their incomings since the beginning of Todd Boehly's ownership, but that could change this summer. Despite spending an endless amount of money to first build a squad for Graham Potter and then for Pochettino, the American has been forced to watch on as the London giants fall to consecutive campaigns stuck in the Premier League's mid-table.

Related "Basically a done deal" – 19 y/o set to leave Chelsea on permanent deal

The Blues are set to net a hefty fee too

Posts ByBen Browning Mar 10, 2024

With poor performances on the pitch and the Premier League not exactly afraid to punish a side for any Financial Fair Play wrongdoings, Chelsea could now endure a summer in which departures steal the headlines over incomings. And that may include Conor Gallagher, according to Graeme Bailey for HITC, with Chelsea sticking to their plan to sell the midfielder in the coming months.

It's not the news that Pochettino will be wanting to hear, having praised Gallagher so highly earlier this season. The Chelsea boss previously said:

"I think he is a player with a great commitment to the team. He is always trying to compensate in every situation, in offensive and defensive situations. It's priceless to have a player like him."

As Gallagher departs, however, the Blues will have room for a "big-name" replacement it seems. According to Bailey, Chelsea appreciates Frenkie de Jong, Vitinha and Bruno Guimaraes, whilst Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone are being looked at to replace Gallagher this summer. Bailey posted the news on X, saying:

With an impressive list of targets, Chelsea could finally find the catalyst behind an eventual revival following a period to forget at Stamford Bridge.

How Chelsea's targets compare to Gallagher

In a frustrating season, Gallagher has been one of the few bright sparks under Pochettino, creating more questions about the decision to show the England international the exit door this summer. Here's how he has compared to a couple of the Blues' reported targets so far this season:

Stats (via FBref)

Connor Gallagher

Bruno Guimaraes

Frenkie de Jong

Goals

2

3

2

Assists

4

4

0

Progressive Carries

41

41

69

Progressive Passes

132

185

166

That said, if Chelsea manage to lure either Guimaraes or De Jong to Stamford Bridge, then sacrificing Gallagher could be seen as a wise choice in the middle of Pochettino's midfield. On paper, the stats suggest that either of those two options would slot perfectly into the middle of the park alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to form a solid trio.

As the summer approaches, Gallagher's potential exit may quickly prove to have quite the knock-on effect at Chelsea.

يستضيف فريق ليفربول نظيره تشيلسي، مساء غد الأحد، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2024/25.

تأتي تلك المباراة في قمة منافسات الجولة الثامنة من الدوري الإنجليزي، وذلك على ملعب “الأنفيلد”.

ويتصدر ليفربول حاليًا جدول الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 18 نقطة.

ويسعى محمد صلاح، النجم المصري، إلى تسجيل هدف على الأقل في تلك المباراة من أجل التقدم في جدول الهدافين التاريخيين لبطولة الدوري الإنجليزي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تقارير: وسيط يعرض محمد صلاح على نادِ أوروبي كبير

ويحتل محمد صلاح حاليًا المركز العاشر في قائمة الهدافين التاريخيين لبطولة الدوري الإنجليزي، برصيد 161 هدفًا.

وفي حال تسجيل محمد صلاح لهدف في مباراة الغد ضد تشيلسي، فإنه سيتساوي مع نجم توتنهام السابق جيرمين ديفو، صاحب الـ162 هدفًا في المركز التاسع.

وإذا سجل محمد صلاح هدفين في المباراة نفسها، فإن رصيده التهديفي سيصبح 163 هدفًا، بالتساوي مع النجم السابق لفريق ليفربول روبي فاولر في المركز الثامن.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are in excellent form as of late, winning three of their last four matches in the Premier League.

Last weekend, Gary O'Neil's side narrowly overcame bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, beating them 1-0 at home, with the three points pushing them into ninth in the table.

However, their attention will turn to the FA Cup this week as the Wanderers welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Molineux.

Not many changes will be made or needed from the weekend, but it is expected that a strong team will be fielded – with just three potential alterations in store. Therefore, let’s take a look at the starting lineup that could see Wolves progress to the next round.

1

GK – Jose Sa

Jose Sa is the number one shot-stopper for Wolves, and he is expected to start once again, just like he did in the previous round against West Bromwich Albion.

2

RCB – Max Kilman

Max Kilman’s leadership will be important on Wednesday, and he has started every single game bar one this season.

3

CB – Santiago Bueno

Santiago Bueno hasn’t been handed a real opportunity yet by O’Neil, starting just twice in the league, but he should feature in the lineup tomorrow ahead of an ageing Craig Dawson.

4

LCB – Toti Gomes

Toti Gomes has been excellent this campaign, and his performance against the Blades will guarantee him a place.

The Portuguese defender won 11 duels while also having 102 touches on Sunday.

5

RM – Matt Doherty

Nelson Semedo is the player to be replaced by Matt Doherty, who has started all three FA Cup games this campaign.

6

CM – Mario Lemina

Mario Lemina should keep his place in the side after impressing at the weekend, making four tackles and two key passes.

The midfielder has also been immense all season, starting 23 times in the league.

7

CM – Tommy Doyle

Tommy Doyle has performed incredibly well when called upon this campaign, and he should return to the side in place of Joao Gomes.

The 22-year-old scored a worldie against Brentford in the first FA Cup tie, helping Wolves progress.

He was also a "stand-out" against West Brom in the Black Country derby, as per journalist Liam Keen, taking 87 touches and controlling the tie from the first whistle to the last.

8

LM – Rayan Ait Nouri

Rayan Ait Nouri was the creator of Wolves' only goal on Sunday, and he will keep his place in the left-wing back role.

9

RF – Pablo Sarabia

Pablo Sarabia was the player who headed home the Algerian’s sublime cross, and his threat in the final third will be needed against Brighton.

10

LF – Pedro Neto

Wolves’ biggest creator in the Premier League with nine assists will continue to prove to be undroppable, and he is one of the first names on the teamsheet.

The Portuguese ace also scored the opener against West Brom in the previous round.

BCCI ethics officer “dismissed” the complaint filed against Dravid because it was “bereft of merit”

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Nov-2019Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been cleared of conflict of interest charges by the BCCI ethics officer Justice (retd.) DK Jain. Justice Jain issued the order on Thursday after conducting two hearings in response to a complaint filed by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA).Gupta had alleged that Dravid, who was appointed the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) this July by the BCCI, was guilty of conflict of interest because he was occupying more than one post at the time, which was not permitted as per the board’s rules. The second post that Dravid was serving, Gupta said in his complaint, was as vice-president of India Cements Pvt. Ltd, which he claimed had ties with the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the IPL.However, in his order, Justice Jain said “a case of conflict” against Dravid could not be made and hence he had “dismissed” the complaint because it was “bereft of merit.”In the order, Justice Jain noted that Dravid had rejected the allegation straightaway, in a written response on August 9. Dravid told Justice Jain that on the “advice” of BCCI and to “avoid any kind of conflict of interest” he had taken “leave of absence” without salary from India Cements during his stint at the NCA. Dravid pointed out that he had been an employee of Indian Cements for two decades, but never had “any connection, relationship or obligation” towards the Super Kings.The BCCI also told Justice Jain that the Super Kings franchise was run by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd., registered in 2013 under the Indian Companies Act. It had nothing to do with India Cements, which was an independent entity. Hence, the BCCI said Dravid could not be an employee of the Super Kings, as Gupta had alleged.”He (Dravid) has asserted that his employment with India Cements Limited, is not and cannot be construed as an employment with the CSK franchisee, regardless of any relationship between the two entities, viz India Cements Limited and Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.,” the order said. “He has further pleaded that at no point in time, has he been a “Team Official” of CSK.”Gupta, however, did not accept that. At the hearing on September 26 in Mumbai, Gupta told Justice Jain that Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. was a “wholly owned subsidiary” of India Cements with “some” of the directors sitting on boards of both firms. Gupta said “a mere change in nomenclature” could not absolve Dravid of the conflict of interest allegation.The ethics officer was clear about one thing. “The concept of ‘conflict of interest’, is not necessarily a question about something one does or intends to do but a question of what one can possibly or potentially do,” Justice Jain said in his order.Justice Jain even referred to the judgments he had served in the cases concerning two of Dravid’s former India team-mates – Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, both of whom were held guilty of conflict. The complaint against Ganguly had been filed by more than one member of the public, while Gupta had pressed the conflict charge against Laxman.Justice Jain pointed out that Ganguly and Laxman suffered from “tractable conflict” and fell foul of the one-man-one-post rule stated in the BCCI constitution.Dravid’s case allowed him to examine the rules deeper. “For examining an instance of ‘conflict of interest”, mere holding of posts by an individual associated with the BCCI may not per-se be sufficient for arriving at the conclusion of existence of ‘conflict of interest’,” Justice Jain said in the order. “But whether holding of such post(s) gives rise to ‘conflict of interest’ or not must also be tested on the anvil of reasonable apprehensions of, or actual favoritism, lack of objectivity, bias, benefits, etc., as contemplated in the definition of ‘conflict of interest’.”Accordingly, Justice Jain needed to test whether the two posts Dravid held “give rise to an apprehension of, lack of objectivity or bias” in each of those positions. “At least, I am unable to fathom any such circumstance (none has even been pointed out by the Complainant), which would come in the way of Mr. Rahul Dravid in fairly discharging his duties as a ‘Team Official’, without being influenced or influencing, in any manner, as a person who is in governance, management or employment of a franchisee or vice versa.”According to Justice Jain, to avoid any complications at the behest of the BCCI, Dravid had handed a written copy from Indian Cements giving a leave of absence until he was employed by the board.