MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — The streak has ended.

For the first time in 50 years of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions races at Williams Grove Speedway dating back to 1970, an All Stars driver has won a feature at the oval. His name is Aaron Reutzel.

Reutzel and local driver Lance Dewease were the stars of the shows Friday night at Williams Grove in the Jack Gunn Memorial Twin 20s for the All Stars Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars.

Reutzel would end up leading all 20 laps of the first main event at the line each time around but Dewease had the lead more than once and would nearly sweep the twins as he went on to claim the second feature.

Reutzel was chased by fellow All Star Paul McMahan when the first twin got started with McMahan drawing to his outside for control on the second lap as Dewease raced in third.

By lap seven, a fleet-running Reutzel entered the rear of the field as Dewease tested McMahan with an outside move in the third and fourth turns.

Traffic would prove quite challenging for McMahan and especially Reutzel but McMahan held on to the second spot until lap 11 when Dewease was able to power by and then set his sights on the leader.

It only took two laps until Dewease was on Reutzel’s fuel cell and the pair was racing just yards apart as they crossed the line on laps 13 and 14 before Dewease went under Reutzel in the first and second turns with five laps to go.

But Reutzel was not to be denied as he ripped the cushion out of the second corner and drew even with Dewease as the pair raced side by side down the backstretch and into the third turn.

By this point Dewease was exercising a lethal swoop maneuver into the corner but Reutzel put four wheels above the cushion and purely out-powered Dewease around the top and regained control back onto the front chute.

A well-timed move around two lapped cars then gave Reutzel the breathing room he needed with a pair of laps to go in order to preserve his $4,000 payday and his first win at Williams Grove Speedway.

The Texas driver’s margin of victory was .389 seconds.  The win was his ninth of the season overall and the 18th All Stars win of his career.

McMahan, Ryan Smith and Adam Wilt completed the top five finishers.

The second main event saw Kyle Moody take control at the start over Adam Wilt and Ryan Smith while Dewease started fifth in the field thanks to a six inversion from the first feature finish.

The only caution flag of the race unfurled with four laps complete for a stopped Robbie Kendall.

Just before the yellow, Dewease had driven by McMahan for fourth but he was forced to go back for the restart due to the lap not being completed.

Both McMahan and Smith advanced on the restart for second and third respectively and Dewease was soon to follow, taking over fourth spot with six laps in the book.

After that, the Fayetteville flyer found mowed down Smith for second with eight laps to go before using a low move in the third and fourth corner with six laps to go to take the lead and run to the 97th win of his Williams Grove career worth $4,000.

Dewease noted in victory lane that he might not have been aggressive enough in the first main event.

The win was the 39th All Stars win of his career.

Smith rode home second by 1.943 seconds, followed by Moody, Wilt and Chad Trout.

Fast time was set by Dale Blaney with a lap of 16.717 seconds.

The finishes:

First feature: 1. Aaron Reutzel, 2. Lance Dewease, 3. Paul McMahan, 4. Ryan Smith, 5. Adam Wilt, 6. Kyle Moody, 7. Logan Wagner, 8.Chad Trout, 9. Dale Blaney, 10. Cory Eliason, 11. Danny Dietrich, 12. Brian Montieth, 13. Brock Zearfoss, 14. Freddie Rahmer, 15. TJ Stutts, 16. Anthony Macri, 17. Kyle Reinhardt, 18. Justin Peck, 19. Greg Wilson, 20. Cory Haas, 21. Gerard McIntyre Jr., 22. Jeff Halligan, 23. Skylar Gee, 24. Troy Fraker, 25. Robbie Kendall, 26. Steve Buckwalter

Second feature: 1. Dewease, 2. Smith, 3. Moody, 4. Wilt, 5. Trout, 6. Dietrich, 7. Montieth, 8. McMahan, 9. Reutzel, 10. Wagner, 11. Rahmer, 12. Eliason, 13. Macri, 14.  Zearfoss, 15. Stutts, 16. Reinhardt, 17. Peck, 18. Haas, 19. McIntyre Jr., 20. Halligan, 21. Buckwalter, 22. Wilson, 23. Fraker, 24. Gee, 25. Blaney, 26. Kendall

MANSFIELD, Ohio — Brandon Sheppard and Mike Marlar won featues on Friday night of the second annual Dirt Million presented by Arizona Sport Shirts at Mansfield Motor Speedway.

Each driver earned $10,000 for their 30-lap victories and are guaranteed a starting spot in Saturday night’s Dirt Million finale.

Sheppard took the lead on lap two from polesitter Kent Robinson and led the rest of the way to win the first Duel. It was not an easy win for the 26-year-old Illinois racer, as he had to hold off both a charging Jimmy Owens and the defending Dirt Million winner Earl Pearson Jr.

Brandon Overton was fourth, with Hudson O’Neal coming from the fifteenth starting spot to register a fifth-place finish at the checkers.

“It was really hard staying out front,” said Sheppard. “They have got the track really good right now. You had to have a line where the car would go best. With traffic in front of us, we really didn’t know where to go. My crew guys are awesome, they kept me up to date on where I needed to be on the track. It was tricky out there. I felt good around the top of three and four and in one and two I felt good all over.”

Owens was in the hunt for the win from the halfway mark and came home in second after passing Pearson on lap 21.

“It is hands down better than we ran here last night,” Owens said. “It felt good to be battling for the win. Brandon [Sheppard], he is one of the toughest guys in the country right now, and to have him moving around and looking over his shoulder the whole race was pretty awesome.”

Pearson, who collected over $202,000 for his win in the Dirt Million a year ago, returned to the Lucas Oil podium with his third-place finish.

“It wasn’t too bad tonight, “ he said. “We got up on the cushion and did our thing, which is unusual for me to go to the cushion. We weren’t bad up on the cushion either. When Brandon moved up there, we couldn’t do much after that.”

Marlar claimed his fourth Lucas Oil win of the season, leading all 30 laps for a convincing victory.

Chase Junghans, for the second night in a row, recorded a second-place finish. Michael Norris, in the Clint Bowyer Racing No. 5 entry, posted his best career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finish rounding out the podium. Jonathan Davenport finished fourth with Tyler Erb crossing the finish line in fifth.

Marlar who also started on the pole of a Thursday night duel was not going to be denied tonight as he stormed to the lead early on over Norris and Junghans. Norris, who like Junghans, was seeking his first career Lucas Oil win, closed on Marlar in heavy traffic with twelve laps scored. Junghans made the pass on Norris for second on lap 20.

Marlar held steady in lapped traffic as Junghans and Norris could not get close enough in the waning laps to challenge for the win. Like Sheppard, the win also marked Marlar’s thirteenth career win with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Marlar led every lap for his win.

“Last night was a bummer when you get a good starting spot like that,” Marlar said. “It’s tough when you win a heat and get to start up front like we did. The car was something I could deal with today better than last night. It was definitely ‘elbows up’ early. Last year we had a real good shot for the win and a carburetor spring broke I think I was running second when it broke and I had to start lifting on the gas pedal.”

Junghans was pleased with another runner-up finish.

“The third times the charm, right? Mikey is hard to beat,” Junghans said. “I wish the track would have gotten a little wider for us. We still have a little bit of tuning on the car to do yet. But it’s really good right now. We just need to build off of last night and tonight.”

The finishes:

First feature: Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Overton, Hudson O’Neal, Kent Robinson, Shannon Babb, Shane Clanton, Max Blair, Gordy Gundaker, Devin Moran, Brian Shirley, Johnny Scott, Mike Benedum, Dan Angelicchio, Ryan Markham, Doug Drown, David Scott, Bobby Pierce, Scott Bloomquist, Stormy Scott.

Second feature: Mike Marlar, Chase Junghans, Michael Norris, Jonathan Davenport, Tyler Erb, Rick Eckert, Ricky Weiss, Jared Landers, Josh Richards, Darrell Lanigan, Tim McCreadie, Steve Casebolt, Boom Briggs, Dennis Erb Jr., Shanon Buckingham, Mason Zeigler, Kyle Bronson, Dale McDowell, Billy Moyer, Billy Moyer Jr.

KOKOMO, Ind. — One night after claiming a victory in Sprint Car Smackdown’s annual karaoke contest, Logan Seavey was singing a different tune Friday night at Kokomo Speedway, ending it in victory lane following his first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car triumph.

The reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion used his voice to win karaoke hardware with Garth Brooks’ “That Summer” after a broken wheel cover ended a solid run on track on Thursday.

For the Sutter, Calif., native, however, tomorrow would come, and he’d use his right foot to capture an even bigger trophy, a bigger payday and the prestige of becoming the series’ first first-time winner of the 2019 season.

Along the way, Seavey cut a new record, ripping 30 laps around Kokomo Speedway 33 seconds quicker than the previous USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car track record for that distance at the quarter-mile, a record formerly held by Bryan Clauson set during Smackdown in 2013, at six minutes and 48.92 seconds.

“Just to be racing sprint cars with USAC and to get to run good racecars with a family like this, is pretty crazy for me,” Seavey noted. “We just race and have fun. We normally end up pretty good and, the more fun we’re having, the better we run. Finally, it all came together tonight. We’ve had that speed the last two nights, and it all finally came together.”

Perhaps, most impressively, was that Seavey was making just his second start of the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint car points season, the first of which came just 24 hours earlier. Seavey picked up a win behind the wheel of a Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports machine in USAC Southwest Sprint Car competition in April at Arizona Speedway.

And, as it turns out, Friday of Smackdown has a special significance to Seavey, as this is the same night in which he first met team co-owner Andy Reinbold a year ago, kicking off a winning connection that certainly paid its dividends on this night.

“Friday night of Smackdown last year was the first time I met Andy,” Seavey remembered. “We got together and ran a few races last year together out west. We came into this year knowing he had a full-time USAC car and that was going to take up a lot of his time. He told me early in the year that, in the big races, he wanted to bring out another car from Arizona to run Smackdown, Western World and the Oval Nationals.”

Seavey began the main event from the pole and led a trio of nineteens on the opening lap aboard his No. 19s while leading the 19 of Kevin Thomas Jr. and the 19az of C.J. Leary. Leary made quick work from his fourth starting spot, rushing into second by lap three past Thomas and began the hunt to track down Seavey.

Leary tried high, sought the middle, looked low, and even cut a diamond groove off turns one and three. Leary chopped into Seavey’s advantage and gained ground off the corners on each go-around, pulling side-by-side in turns two and four each lap for several laps early on before Seavey utilized the topside momentum to surge ahead and maintain his lead.

By the 10th lap, Leary’s exit plan on the low line became stifled with a bevy of traffic occupying the bottom, hindering his path as he pursued Seavey. At the halfway mark, Seavey maintained a three car length lead as he seemingly ran his own race up top and, with no cautions in sight, kept traffic as part of the equation and allowed the top lane to be wide open for Seavey all by his lonesome where he was most comfortable running, up against the cushion.

Seavey had to be perfect and execute flawlessly as a hungry Leary sought his first series victory in 20 starts. Yet, Seavey managed to up the interval in the final ten laps, from a half-second, to three quarters of a second, to more than a second on the final lap, closing out a superb performance with a 1.114-second win over Leary, Tyler Courtney, Kevin Thomas Jr. and Justin Grant.

Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports’ one-two finish was the first time teammates have occupied the top-two positions in a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature on dirt since July of 2008 when Keith Kunz Motorsports’ stable of Cole Whitt and Darren Hagen finished first and second, respectively, during the Indiana Sprint Week round at Gas City I-69 Speedway.

To see complete results, turn to the next page.

Dick Karth, 66, is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend at Road America, which is less than an hour from his hometown of Grafton, Wis. On the side of his No. 61 MBM Motorsports entry are decals to bring awareness to the Dick Trickle Memorial Project.

Trickle, a Wisconsin native, won more than 1,200 features during his racing career. He in 2013 at the age of 71. Karth talks about his involvement with the project and what it means to have Dick Trickle’s name on the car this weekend.

Tammy Abraham was the star of the show with two brilliant goals to help give his Chelsea side a 3-2 victory, their first of the season, over a spirited Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Positives

Frank Lampard's continued faith in Chelsea's youngsters is starting to reap rewards, with Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham putting in excellent displays. There was also a welcome return to form for Cesar Azpilicueta, who looked dangerous on the overlap.

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Negatives

Despite all their verve as an attacking force, there are still question marks around a Blues defence that was breached with ease for both Norwich goals. It's early days, but Christian Pulisic needs to do more to justify his hefty pricetag despite his assist for Mount's goal.

Manager rating out of 10

7 -- It wasn't perfect, but Lampard's proactive philosophy is slowly starting to take shape. His use of attacking full-backs allowed his side to expose the space left behind by Norwich's marauding overlaps, causing significant damage.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Kepa Arrizabalaga, 6. The Chelsea stopper will be disappointed he failed to prevent Teemu Pukki from finding the net from a tight angle for 2-2, but was largely untroubled during the 90 minutes.

DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 7. After a slow start to the season, this was much more like the Azpilicueta that Chelsea fans know and love. It all started with a lovely floated cross for the Chelsea opener, and the Spaniard's delivery caused problems throughout.

DF Andreas Christensen, 6. The centre-back will be amazed he didn't find the net with a bullet header that was saved brilliantly by Tim Krul in the first half, in what was a relatively quiet game for the Dane.

DF Kurt Zouma, 6. The 24-year-old may well feel aggrieved that he was denied a goal by VAR late on, while Pukki's goal was scored in space that Zouma had left unoccupied in the penalty area.

DF Emerson, 6. The left-back was playing more as a winger -- such was Chelsea's attacking dominance -- and should've done much better when presented with a shooting opportunity from 12 yards out on the hour mark.

MF Jorginho, 6. The midfielder was disappointing defensively when he failed to deal with Emiliano Buendia's weaving run for Norwich's first equaliser, and the Italian missed N'Golo Kante's workrate alongside him in the heart of the Chelsea midfield.

MF Mateo Kovacic, 6. Showed a bit more purpose in his passing play than in previous weeks, and the former Real Madrid man helped Chelsea maintain a rapid tempo. Still waiting to see some more incision from the Croatian, however.

MF Mason Mount, 7. A superb first touch gave him an easy finish to put his side 2-1 ahead for his second goal in as many games for Chelsea, and a goal at Carrow Road for the second season running. An England call-up is surely just around the corner for the 20-year-old.

FW Ross Barkley, 6. Drafted in when Pedro was injured during the warm-up, but there was a disappointing lack of impact from the former Everton man, and his failure to get goal side of his opponent allowed Todd Cantwell an easy tap-in for Norwich's first goal.

FW Christian Pulisic, 6. The American provided an assist for Mount, but wasted a glorious chance at the start of the second half when he sliced into the side netting while in acres of space.

ST Tammy Abraham, 8. A brilliant first-time finish on the half-volley put Chelsea ahead early on, and a superbly-taken individual goal proved to be the deciding moment. This performance will do the 21-year-old a world of good.

Substitutes

ST Olivier Giroud, 5. Harshly penalised for a foul on Norwich goalkeeper Krul that led to a disallowed Zouma goal in the closing stages.

FW Willian, N/R. Given 10 minutes or so, but didn't do much.

FW Marcos Alonso, N/R. Came on to finish the game off.

Virat Kohli often speaks about doing whatever it takes to win. He says that's how he is able to bat on even when he is running on empty and the same philosophy had led to him fielding 38 different Test XIs at the start of his Test captaincy. It appears the clock has been reset again with India going into their first match of the World Championship without premier offspinner R Ashwin, triggering the attention of, among others, former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

"I would say that this is one area where Virat needs to just be a bit more consistent," Ganguly said at an event in Mumbai on Friday. "Pick players and give them a bit more consistent opportunities - for them to get that confidence, rhythm, I have said that before. You saw how Shreyas Iyer played in that ODI series [136 runs at 68 against West Indies] - you pick him and you give him the freedom to play those matches and I think that needs to happen with a lot of players and I am sure Virat will do that."

ALSO READ - Ashwin left out of Antigua XI in 'astonishing' selection call

Kohli's mixing and matching of personnel coincided with several injuries to key players but there were also instances where first-choice picks like Ajinkya Rahane (Cape Town 2017) and Cheteshwar Pujara (St Lucia 2016) were placed aside for more aggressive options. And, in the ongoing Test against West Indies, the spinner that the team trusted - Ravindra Jadeja - scored a backs-to-the-wall half-century that looks set to provide India with a sizeable lead. Still he had to beat a couple of in-form players to get into the XI.

"I was also surprised to see Kuldeep Yadav left out," Ganguly said. "The last Test he played against Australia, he got five wickets, if you remember in Sydney on a good flat pitch, he picked up five wickets against Australia. But Jadeja also has been in good form, the surface yesterday at Antigua needed three fast bowlers because we saw the seam movement the fast bowlers got and it was a question of the spin.

"Ashwin's record is phenomenal to leave him out in the West Indies, so it's a decision which Kohli has made and we will find out in the next couple of days how far Jadeja goes on to pick wickets on this surface. Because this pitch will get up and down, as the game progresses, you can see that sort of indication from the first day of the Test, we will have to wait to see but that's the competition of Indian cricket."

Ganguly also believes that the team - and especially head coach Ravi Shastri, who has just been reappointed for a two-year term - have been together for long enough to start winning world titles.

"Ravi has been around for a while - five years he's completed so he's got an extension for two more years - hopefully now India can now go all the way in the two upcoming tournaments that are coming up, which is the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy which has now become a T20 format," Ganguly said. "So I hope they do well, they're doing well, they get to the semi-finals. In 2015 in Australia they struggled, in 2017 in Mumbai West Indies got the better of them and even in this World Cup (2019) so hopefully they will get to the next step and create a winning combination."

Jack Leaning will leave Yorkshire for Kent at the end of the season to attempt to resurrect a career that has lost impetus since he was deemed to be one of the most promising young players in the country.

With Kent's Division One future all but assured, and with a strong challenge in the Vitality Blast once again underlining their T20 credentials, Leaning has decided to leave a county that he has been with since he was 10 years old.

His departure continues a Yorkshire reshaping over the past year which has brought mixed results, with a top-three place in the Championship not masking the inadequacies of the club's limited-overs cricket.

Leaning's absence from the T20 side was therefore particularly galling as Yorkshire's middle order has persistently looked to be one of the weakest in the country. Despite a career strike rate of 131 and average of 28, he has played only two matches - managing 39 from as many balls to go with a wicket in Friday's victory over Durham.

His Championship form has long been under scrutiny. Kent will envisage improvement on an average of 30.46, considerably below what was expected when, somewhat surprisingly, he was named as the Cricket Writers' Club Young Player of the Year at 21. Capped at Scarborough in 2016, this summer he made a pair there against Surrey and the look in his eyes suggested he would be better elsewhere.

Kent's director of cricket Paul Downton said: "Jack's talents across all formats of the game show that he is a versatile and intelligent cricketer. He will add significant depth to our batting unit."

Neither would it be a surprise if Kent uncovered Leaning's potential as an offspinner. He has only 18 wickets in all competitions, but he is a big turner of the ball and has been undervalued by Yorkshire in such a role.

"I think it's at the right stage of my career to have a little bit of a change, and hopefully it all works out to be a positive one," Leaning said. "It's a big move lifestyle-wise, and that did cross my mind at first. But since then, all that's come back to my mind is excitement as opposed to any nerves."

He would not be the first player to leave Yorkshire and rebuild his career elsewhere. Alex Lees, another batsman to win the CWC Young Player award, and has had moderate success in his first season at Durham.

"I leave Yorkshire with nothing but fond memories," Leaning added. "I'll be giving it my all towards the end of the season, and there are still two bits of silverware on offer if things go well for us."

Yorkshire's director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: "He's been a great model professional during his time here and has been part of two Championship-winning teams.

"He's had a good career, but hasn't played regular first-team cricket. At this moment in time, the opportunity to play first-team cricket is exactly what he needs. We thank him for representing us with pride and wish him every success."

Arun Jaitley, the former union minister who also served as a vice-president of the BCCI, has died aged 66 following an illness.

Jaitley's involvement in Indian cricket began in earnest in the late 1990s, when he became a member of the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association, the governing body of cricket in the national capital. In 1999, soon after becoming a union minister, Jaitley took charge as the DDCA president, a post he held till 2013, the same year he became vice-president of the BCCI for a brief period before resigning in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

"A remarkable statesman, Mr Jaitley was a passionate cricket follower and will always be remembered as one of the most able and respected cricket administrators," the BCCI said in a statement. "During his long tenure as the President of the Delhi & District Cricket Association, he brought about a tremendous change in the cricketing infrastructure.

"A close friend of the cricketers, he always stood by them, encouraged them and supported them in their quest for excellence."

Jaitley was also a member of the IPL governing council. Following news of his death on Saturday, a number of Delhi-based cricketers, as well as some others, expressed their condolences on Twitter.

Shocked & saddened to hear about the passing away of Shri Arun Jaitley ji. He was genuinely a good person, always willing to help others. He took out his precious time back in 2006 when my father passed away to come to my home & pay his condolences. May his soul rest in peace.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 24, 2019

A father teaches u to speak but a father figure teaches u to talk. A father teaches u to walk but a father figure teaches u to march on. A father gives u a name but a father figure gives u an identity. A part of me is gone with my Father Figure Shri Arun Jaitley Ji. RIP Sir.

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 24, 2019

Saddened to hear about the demise of Shri Arun Jaitley. He donned several hats successfully, including that of a cricket administrator. India has lost a distinguished parliamentarian. My condolences to his family and friends.

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 24, 2019

Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Shri. Arun Jaitley. Fondly remember our conversations around cricket. His contributions in every field will remain unparalleled. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 24, 2019

Deeply saddened to hear that Mr. Arun Jaitley is no more. A scholar...a cricket lover. Always helpful. Would remember the names of the kids doing well at U-19 level too. World will be poorer in your absence, sir. #riparunjaitley

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 24, 2019

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly does not agree with the existing conflict-of-interest rule within the BCCI constitution, which supports the one-man-one-post concept. Ganguly, who was found to be breaching the rule recently, said the BCCI had to make the conflict rule more "practical" and allow people to perform multiple roles.

Ganguly has been a strong opponent of the conflict rule ever since he and his former team-mates Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman were accused of being in conflict. All three were part of the inaugural Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) set up by the BCCI to make hig-profile cricketing appointments including that of India head coach.

Ganguly, who is president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, is also on the coaching staff of the IPL team Delhi Capitals, and has also been doing media work as a commentator and columnist. Laxman writes columns in newspapers and is also a commentator in addition to being a mentor at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) asked the BCCI's ombudsman, Justice (retired) DK Jain to adjudicate. Tendulkar withdrew himself from all the BCCI committees even before the final judgement was released. Eventually Justice Jain found merit in the allegation and confirmed that under the BCCI constitution both Ganguly and Laxman were in breach of the conflict rule since they were performing multiple roles.

"I wouldn't say an exception be made to the rule [for celebrated former players such as himself, Tendulkar and Laxman, but] the rule has to be practical," Ganguly said on Friday, during an event in Mumbai.

If the rule remains in its current form, every former India player would find it impossible to take up a new role, Ganguly said. He took the example of Rahul Dravid, whose possible conflict of interest has been put in the spotlight by Sanjeev Gupta, a life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, the same person who pulled up Laxman and Tendulkar.

Recently Dravid took charge as head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Gupta has said this will put Dravid in a conflict of interest since he is also employed by India Cements, which is owned by the former BCCI president N Srinivasan. Justice Jain is yet to pronounce his findings in the Dravid case, even though the CoA has given him its view, which is that he is not in conflict since he has frozen his employment with India Cements.

"And what is conflict of interest?" Ganguly asked. "Today Rahul Dravid is appointed NCA head and there are issues about his conflict of interest of his job with India Cements. So you've got to be practical on that. You never know whether you would become NCA head or not, three years later you may not remain NCA head, but these jobs are permanent and these jobs remain with you. So it has got to be practically solved - even when you do commentary or coaching, I don't see it as a conflict of interest. "

Ganguly also took the examples of former players from other countries performing multiple roles, such as the former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who is head coach of Delhi Capitals. "Look at Ricky Ponting. He coaches Australia (Ponting is a consultant with Cricket Australia), he commentates, he is commentating in the Ashes now, and in the month of April next year he will be with Delhi Capitals.

"I really don't consider this as a conflict of interest; because these are all skill-based. You don't decide whether you commentate or whether you coach or you are part of a franchise, because of your skill you get picked by people, and I don't think it can be a conflict. It has to be bit more precise otherwise everything is going to be conflict."

Ganguly pointed out that the conflict issue had to be taken seriously, otherwise every appointment would be questioned. He provided the example of Vikram Rathour, the former India opener who is set to become India's batting coach from September. Rathour, who was part of the previous national selection panel, has been facing conflict allegations since he is a relative of the former India offspinner Aashish Kapoor, who is the chairman of the junior men's selection committee.

Ganguly said it was "ridiculous" to call Rathour's case one of conflict. "I was reading in the newspaper that there is issue of Vikram now with conflict with Aashish Kapoor being a junior selector. I find it ridiculous. If somebody else is a junior selector and somebody else is batting coach, how does it influence and how it is conflict? So these things need to be a lot clearer. I am firm believer that skills have to be kept separate because you cannot influence skills, it's about one's judgement of who's better and who is not better."

Speaking at an event in Delhi on Wednesday, former India opener Virender Sehwag had also weighed in on the conflict-of-interest issue.

"I understand that if I am a selector, and I have a cricket academy, then I might pick boys from my academy," Sehwag said. "But as a coach, I don't understand how will I be in conflict of interest if I have a cricket academy. Or if I am part of any association, then I cannot become a selector."