Potential conflict of interest: Indra Nooyi to recuse herself from ICC media rights process

Indra Nooyi, the only female representative in the ICC's Board of Directors, has decided to recuse herself from the upcoming sale of its media rights process as she is also a member of potential digital rights bidder Amazon's board. The ICC's TV and digital rights bundle for the Indian sub-continent will be up for sale with sealed tenders being submitted on August 22.

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Indra Nooyi, the former chairperson at PepsiCo, who is currently serving as an independent director at the International Cricket Council (ICC), also happens to be on the board of Amazon and the company's audit committee as the retail-to-content conglomerate prepares to submit a bid for media rights

If there is a tie between the bidders, then an e-auction will be held to decide the winner. Some of the potential bidders include Star, Viacom18, Sony and Amazon. Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, had pulled out of the IPL media rights auction with Star and Viacom winning the TV and digital rights, respectively, for record amounts. Nooyi, a former CEO cum chairperson of global cola giant PepsiCo, is the ICC's first independent director, and she has decided to abstain herself from the process in order to avoid allegations of a potential conflict of interest.

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The International Cricket Council (ICC), by way of a tender document, has asked interested broadcasters to come forward and submit bids.

"Indra Nooyi's appointment to the Amazon board was declared to the ICC when she took up the role," an ICC spokesperson told PTI when asked about