Manohar elected unopposed as ICC chairman

DUBAI: India’s Shashank Manohar has been elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body said on Thursday.

Under reforms Manohar himself had initiated within the ICC as its former chief earlier this year, the chairman must be an independent candidate with no formal links to his home board.

Manohar, who resigned as the president of the powerful Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Tuesday, commenced his two-year term at ICC with immediate effect.

“It is an honour to be elected as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council and for that I am thankful to all the ICC directors who have put their faith and trust in my abilities,” Manohar, 58, said in a statement.

“I also take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues in the BCCI who have supported me during my recent time as the BCCI’s President.

“During his previous ICC stint, Manohar was instrumental in overturning the constitutional changes made in 2014 that gave India, England and Australia almost total control of cricket’s administration.

The ICC full council approved the constitutional amendments which will see the president’s post abolished after the governing body’s annual conference in Edinburgh.

A lawyer by profession, Manohar served as BCCI president from 2008-2011 and was re-elected to the powerful position in October 2015 after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

As BCCI president, Manohar brought significant transparency into the functioning of a board traditionally perceived as an efficient but opaque body.

“These are exciting times for international cricket as we are presently carrying out a comprehensive review of the 2014 constitutional amendments which is aimed at not only improving governance structures, but cricket structures as well,” he said.

“The ultimate objective is to grow our sport and engage a whole new generation of fans and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to shape the future of cricket, which has a proud history and rich tradition.”

In February, Manohar, as ICC chairman while being BCCI president, had criticised the imbalance of power within cricket’s governing body because of the Big Three’s constitutional revamp in 2014, which had given the boards of India, England and Australia greater authority and a larger share of the ICC revenue. Manohar had called the revamp “bullying”, and said there were several faults in the ICC that he hoped to rectify.

The ICC said that to accommodate the new position of independent chairman, the body’s Full Council - comprising 10 Full Members, 38 Associate Members and 57 Affiliate Members - had approved various amendments to the ICC constitution. As a result, the post of ICC president became redundant and was abolished.

The BCCI welcomed Manohar’s election, calling it a “matter of pride for India”.  “Mr. Shashank Manohar’s unanimous, unopposed election is a matter of pride for India,” Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, said in a statement. “With his vast administrative experience he will provide leadership to the ICC to strengthen the position of cricket at the global level. The BCCI looks forward to working closely with the ICC for developing cricket.”