Rohan Gavaskar, who played one-day international cricket for India in 2004, has decided to pull the curtains down on his cricket academy in Mumbai to avoid a conflict of interest issue since he is a television commentator
Rohan Gavaskar
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Rohan Gavaskar, who played one-day international cricket for India in 2004, has decided to pull the curtains down on his cricket academy in Mumbai to avoid a conflict of interest issue since he is a television commentator.
"Dear all, The Rohan Gavaskar cricket academy for under-privileged kids has to shut down due to a conflict of interest with my role as a commentator for BCCI on the domestic circuit. A big thank you for all your support to the academy while it was running. Much love," Rohan, 41, wrote on his Facebook page yesterday.
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The academy was first based at the Andheri Sports Complex before moving to Azad Maidan where it was operational for the last two years. Kids from BMC schools were coached free at Azad Maidan with all equipment supplied, it is learnt.
Some of Rohan's Facebook friends expressed regret at the closure while others stressed that he took the right decision. A few of the urged him to find a different way of keeping the academy going especially since it was helping less fortunate kids.
When one user asked how does a commentator stand to benefit from running a coaching facility more so when he is not a selector, Rohan replied: "I had to choose between the academy and my job... and yes I chose my job! I'm quite certain most people I know would do that. I'll tell you what, since you don't have to worry about conflict of interest with the job you have, maybe you could start an academy for the under privileged. I'll sort the coaching staff out for you."
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