Pitch good for Shashank Manohar’s second innings as ICC chief

KOLKATA: Shashank Manohar’s term as independent chairman of the International Cricket Council looks set to get extended by two years. He has emerged the unanimous choice of the board members, who are supposed to elect a new man after Manohar’s two-year period ends in June. Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke, who had been eyeing the throne, hasn’t found enough backers.

Even the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which was initially supporting his candidature, has got second thoughts. Express had reported earlier that with Clarke showing interest, Manohar was not keen contesting elections. The ICC has planned a party for Clarke on Wednesday evening at the Oberoi Grand here, which is also the venue of the five-day quarterly board meet of the world body.​

Head of the ICC’s task force to look after Pakistan affairs, Clarke will be honoured for his contribution to administration. It seems the current ECB dispensation under Colin Graves is not on good terms with Clarke.

For a candidate to run for the post of the ICC’s independent chairman, one of the member boards has to propose his/her name following which the ethics committee checks if he/she is interested. If yes, another member has to second the name. Though PCB and Cricket Australia were okay with Clarke, the ECB’s reluctance has made them doubtful.

Barring ECB, all members of the ICC are in Kolkata. Express understands that Graves is tempted by the idea of throwing his hat in the ring. Several members including BCCI see a hidden agenda in his stand against Clarke.

“He is holding his cards close to his chest. Until he arrives, we won’t know what’s in store. He is ambitious, but whether he can get enough support at this point in time remains to be seen. As things stand, Manohar is the unanimous choice,” a BCCI official told Express.

Though Manohar doesn’t have many fans in BCCI, they are backing him because they consider him to be the better of the two ‘bads’. If they lose the chair to the Western lobby, wresting it back might prove difficult. Though a section of the BCCI wanted Manohar to go after he cut its share of ICC’s profits, they seem to have reversed their thoughts.

They have even had a word with PCB’s Najam Sethi regarding the necessities to keep the Asian bloc united despite differences between the two boards.

venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com