Gavaskar quits as ICC cricket panel chief

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was asked to choose between his media commitments and role as the Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee, has relinquished his job with the game's world governing body.

Gavaskar conveyed his decision to the ICC on Wednesday, a day after chairing the Cricket Committee meeting which concluded here on Tuesday, ICC's acting Chief Executive Officer David Richardson said in a statement here on Thursday.

The ICC had put Gavaskar on notice after discussing the potential for a conflict of interest for a person chairing the ICC Cricket Committee while, at the same time, working for a media outlet in its meeting in March in Dubai.

Gavaskar said with more and more cricket it was not possible for him to do justice with the two jobs.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the eight years I have held the role (of ICC Cricket Committee Chairman), which is an honorary position, and it has been extremely fulfilling to be able to give back to the game through that role", Gavaskar said.

"However, with more and more cricket being played it has become clear that it is not possible for me to do justice to two jobs, the chairmanship of the ICC Cricket Committee and my media commitments," he said.

The master bastman, who was re-elected at the high-profile post on ICC's insistence, said it was not possible for him to juggle in different responsibilities at the same time.

"As an example of that, I had to leave my professional commitments as a commentator on the Indian Premier League matches in order to come and chair this year's meeting in Dubai", Gavaskar said.

"I envisaged the potential for this sort of issue two years ago and intimated then that I was not able to continue in the role but when I was asked to do so I was honoured to be re-elected.

"Now, however, it is clear I cannot combine both roles and therefore I am relinquishing the chair of the ICC Cricket Committee," said the first cricketer to score 10,000 Test runs.

Richardson said the ICC would try to utilise Gavaskar's expertise to benefit the game in some other capacity in future.

"Having someone of Sunil's stature involved has to be of benefit to the game and given the ICC's lengthy relationship with him we hope we can still utilise his knowledge in some other capacity in the future," Richardson said

"We are indebted to the work Sunil has put into his role as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee. He has brought his vast experience of the game to bear, not only over the eight years of his chairmanship but also the six years prior to that, when he was a delegate on the same committee," he said.

Some of Gavaskar's critical columns had not gone down well with the ICC top-brass and his scathing attack on match referee Mike Procter after the controversial Sydney Test between India and Australia irked the game's world governing body.

Gavaskar had alleged that Procter preferred to agree with a "white player's version" than a player of Sachin Tendulkar's integrity during the racial row involving Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds in January.

Gavaskar had also termed some ICC member countries like England and Australia as "dinosaurs", alleging they could not stomach India's growing clout in the game.

The ICC then decided to give the former Indian captain the option of choosing between his job as a commentator and columnist and that of the chairman of the cricket committee.