Mani to head ICC’s financial affairs body

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani has been appointed as chairperson of the ICC’s Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA), says a press release.

The appointment was made by ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar during last week’s ICC Annual Conference.

The F&CA is one of the ICC’s most important committees, which assists the organisation in discharging its responsibilities in relation to all financial and commercial matters relating to and concerning it.

For Mani, who is a Chartered Accountant by profession, it is a return to the prestigious role after nearly 17 years. He was the ICC’s first-ever F&CA Chairman in 1996 and served until 2002, and was instrumental in commercialising international cricket in 2000 by leading the ICC to sign its commercial deal worth approximately $550m.

Mani will chair the committee that will also include Indra Nooyi (independent director), Amitabh Choudhary (BCCI), Chris Nenzani (CSA), Imran Khawaja (ICC Vice-Chairman), Earl Eddings (CA) and Colin Graves (ECB). Manohar and Manu Sawhney (ICC CEO) will be the ex-officio members.

While Mani will chair the ICC F&CA for the second time, Dr Nasim Ashraf is the only other PCB chairman to head an ICC committee when he led the HR and Remuneration Committee in 2008.

Mani said: “I am grateful to the ICC chairman for the confidence he has reposed in me and look forward to working with Manu Sawhney and his team.”

Mani — who became the PCB’s permanent representative at the ICC in 1989, ICC Vice-President in 2002 and ICC President from 2003-2006 — has also been included in the ICC Audit Committee, which will be chaired by India’s Yuvraj Narayan.

In an another ICC appointment, PCB General Counsel, Barrister Salman Naseer, has been included in the ICC’s Safeguarding Panel. The panel, which will be headed by Kate Gallafent, QC, has been set-up to ensure implementation of the ICC Safeguarding Regulations and protection of the welfare of any person(s) engaged in activities in connection with an ICC Event (including Players, Player Support Personnel and others).

PCB MD Wasim Khan and star woman cricketer Sana Mir were named in the ICC Women’s Committee as Full Member and Current Player Representatives, respectively.