Shashank Manohar is ICC’s first independent chairman

Shashank Manohar, who resigned as president of the Indian cricket board two days ago, was on Thursday elected unanimously and unopposed as chairman of the International Cricket Council following the ICC full council’s approval of constitutional amendments proposed this April in Dubai.

Manohar becomes the first elected independent chairman of the game’s governing body and will commence his two-year term with immediate effect. The post is an honorary one.

In a statement, the cricket body said, “According to the election process, ICC directors were each allowed to nominate one candidate, who had to be either a present or past ICC director.

“However, given that Mr Manohar was the sole nominee for the position and the Board has now unanimously supported his appointment, the independent Audit Committee Chairman, Mr Adnan Zaidi, who has been overseeing the election process, declared the process complete, and Mr Manohar the successful candidate.”

Commenting on his election, Manohar said: “It is an honour to be elected as 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.

“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. 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.”

Manohar, a well-known lawyer based out of Nagpur, had also been ICC president as head of the BCCI as per the earlier system of rotating chairmanships. In order to accommodate the new position of an “independent” ICC chairman, on Monday the full council unanimously approved various amendments to the ICC’s constitution including the abolishment of the president’s post.

As part of reforms he piloted, the ICC amended its constitution to bring in direct elections for the position which will now be officially an independent post.

Manohar was BCCI president for the first time from 2008 to 2011. Following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya, he was re-elected to the post till he stepped down on Tuesday.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla told a wire agency on the day, “We are all proud of the fact that an Indian is now holding the first independent position in the world governing body.”

Added board secretary Anurag Thakur, “Shashank Manohar’s unanimous, unopposed election is a matter of pride for India. 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.”

Not everyone was as sanguine, as a section of the BCCI remains of the opinion that Manohar stepped aside just ahead of implementing the most crucial aspect of the Justice Lodha committee’s recommendations to the Supreme Court, of breaking the present voting structure of the BCCI and implementing a new one-state-on-vote condition.