Shashank Manohar officially stepped down from the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman position, after four years as leader of the global governing body of cricket.
Imran Khwaja from Singapore, who was the deputy chairman of ICC, has been appointed as the acting chairman until the next chairman’s election process is finalized.
A statement by the ICC on Wednesday confirmed the departure of Manohar and the elevation of Khawaja, and the board is “expected” to approve the successor’s election procedure “within the next week.”
Manohar who made a shocking return as BCCI chief in 2015 following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya, resigned from the BCCI and in 2016 took over as ICC’s first independent chairman. He had announced earlier this year that, after serving two two-year terms, he would step down when his term had ended.
The grapevine has been abuzz with Manohar’s replacement. Although Khwaja is an aspirant and Sourav Ganguly, chief of BCCI is a rank outsider, this publication understands that Colin Graves from England’s remains the favorite to assume responsibility at the ICC’s annual meeting, which is scheduled to take place next month.
The highlight of Manohar’s tenure remained abusing the dominant position of the BCCI in sharing revenue of the ICC. During the tenure of N. Srinivasan (predecessor of Manohar) as the ICC chairman, the revenue model of ICC in favor of India, England and Australia, with majority of ICC sponsorships came from the Indian market. Manohar’s regime brought parity to the revenue model, causing wrath from his former colleagues on the BCCI.
