Shashank Manohar set to step down as BCCI chief, eyes re-election to ICC chair
Shashank Manohar may step down as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in order to get a fresh term as the chairman of the International Cricket Council.
Sources close to the Board told Catch that Manohar was "keen" to have a full term as ICC chairman, since the present term is about to expire.
The Nagpur-based senior lawyer, who took over the BCCI chair from the late Jagmohan Dalmiya last year, is already the ICC chairman, appointed by India under the old rules.
Change of rules
Manohar's predecessor as ICC chairman, N Srinivasan, had created the post of ICC chairman as part of a sweeping change in the world body's administrative structure, designed to bring maximum financial benefit to India, with a little help from Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
However, as per a decision taken by the ICC Board on Monday, 25 April, a fresh election will be held for an 'independent' chairman in late May, and candidates cannot hold any national or provincial position within any of its member boards.
"Following on from the February 2016 meeting decision to urgently re-establish the 'independent' position of ICC chairman, the Board agreed that the election of the ICC chairman by the Board will be held through a secret ballot in late May after all constitutional amendments have been approved by the Full Council in the coming weeks," an ICC release said.
"The election process will be overseen by the ICC's independent Audit Committee chairman, and all present and past ICC directors will be eligible to contest the election. However, candidates can only be nominated by a fellow ICC director who, in turn, will be allowed to provide no more than one nominee. Any nominee with the support of at least two Full Member ICC directors will be put forward as a candidate for election.
The elected independent chairman will not be allowed to hold any national or provincial position with any Member Board."
Contenders for presidency
To satisfy this criterion, Manohar is expected to step down soon, necessitating another change of guard at the top of the BCCI.
It is as yet unclear who will replace him as BCCI president. The grapevine says Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president and Union Minister, but he's 75 years old, and that'll go against the Lodha committee's recommendations that the Supreme Court is keen for the BCCI to adopt. Ditto for Saurashtra strongman Niranjan Shah, who is 71.
In such a scenario, Board secretary Anurag Thakur may himself forego the rest of his term and get elected as president. The other options are Maharashtra Cricket Association boss Ajay Shirke, and former Union Minister and current IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla.
Shukla, in particular, is known as someone who, despite belonging to the Congress party, has friendly relations across party lines. He has been BCCI vice-president before, and has lobbied for the top chair in the past.
First published: 27 April 2016, 10:44 IST
![BJP's Kapil Mishra recreates Shankar Mahadevan’s ‘Breathless’ song to highlight Delhi pollution [WATCH]](http://images.catchnews.com/upload/2022/11/03/kapil-mishra_240884_300x172.png "BJP's Kapil Mishra recreates Shankar Mahadevan’s ‘Breathless’ song to highlight Delhi pollution [WATCH]")
![Anupam Kher shares pictures of his toned body on 67th birthday [MUST SEE]](http://images.catchnews.com/upload/2022/03/07/Anupam_kher_231145_300x172.jpg "Anupam Kher shares pictures of his toned body on 67th birthday [MUST SEE]")
