Shashank Manohar plays cards right to stay in ICC hot seat

CHENNAI: The International Cricket Council on Tuesday confirmed Shashank Manohar will continue as its independent chairman till 2020, after being re-elected unopposed. Even before the ICC annual meeting in Kolkata last month, signs had been pointing to the former BCCI president continuing in the chair. With former England Cricket Board chief Giles Clarke failing to garner support for his candidature, Manohar was the sole nominee and the board unanimously elected him chairman for a second term, avoiding elections at its annual conference in June.

As reported by this newspaper, most ICC board members were keen on Manohar as they believed with the Test and ODI Championships beginning next year, he would be able to lead them into a position of strength. Express understands that even though Clarke tried his luck, there were no backers — not even his home board — as the board directors saw Manohar providing more stability.

The ICC in a statement said, “During the last two years, Manohar has led significant reform of the sport, reversing the resolutions of 2014, introducing a revised governance structure, including the appointment of the ICC’s first independent female director and the development of international cricket structures that bring context to the global game and provide more opportunities for more members to compete.” With regards to stability, Manohar by virtue of being the first independent chairman seems to have impressed a host of directors by not considering the interests of his home board (BCCI) first and propagating a more democratic approach. “He has been very hands-on with his job, which was completely unseen in ICC corridors,” is how one of the ICC officials put it.

“The ICC is entering a new era and with Shashank having overseen the structural changes with regards to the Big Three model, he is instrumental to the process that lies ahead. Though the FTP and the ICC Test Championship have been finalised, a new chairman will not give continuation. He has won over a lot of members with his style of functioning,” said an ICC member, who was part of the group that convinced Manohar to continue in 2016.

Manohar’s other significant achievement has been getting even the BCCI by his side. Just a year back, the relationship between them was at an all-time low because he reversed the Big Three formula which saw the Indian board miss out on a significant amount. But with the BCCI in turmoil, opposing Manohar would make the Western bloc powerful. “Let bygones be bygones. We have to look ahead. With important matters like Olympic participation on agenda, it would be better to have Manohar. If we oppose him, we should have alternative.

The BCCI doesn’t have any at the moment,” a BCCI functionary told Express. “Over the next two years we can look forward to launching a global strategy for the sport in partnership with our members so we can grow the game and ensure more of the world can enjoy cricket. The sport is in good health but we are the guardians of the game and we must continue to work hard to maintain that,” Manohar said.

venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com