Shashank Manohar was the first independent chairman of the ICC © AFP
Who is Shashank Manohar?
He’s a 59-year old lawyer from Nagpur who has been involved in cricket administration since 1996. He has been BCCI president twice and became ICC chairman in November 2015 by virtue of taking over as president of the BCCI. He then became the independent ICC chairman in May 2016, but resigned on March 15, 2017 citing personal reasons.
Why is he important?
Two reasons: First, he became the ICC’s first independent chairman when he was elected unopposed to the post in May 2016. Before that, the chairmanship or presidency of the ICC was rotated between the heads of Full Member cricket boards. Second, he spearheaded the ICC’s efforts towards the proposed dismantling of the Big Three structure that gave the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB a greater share of the ICC’s revenue and more power.
How did Manohar go about trying to rollback the Big Three model?
He stated his opposition to the structure in November 2015, when he became BCCI president for the second time, saying the richest three boards were “bullying” the others. As independent ICC chairman, he headed a committee that drew up a list of recommendations to alter the Big Three model. A new constitution and financial model that significantly reduced the BCCI’s share of the ICC revenues was put to a vote at an ICC Board meeting in February 2017. Seven Full Members voted in favour of the new constitution and model; the Indian and Sri Lankan boards voted against it, while Zimbabwe’s board abstained.
So, Manohar has done what he set out to before leaving?
Not quite. A final decision on the new constitution will only be made in the next round of ICC meetings, in April.
Why is the timing of his departure odd?
There are only a couple of months to formalise the new constitution he helped draft. The BCCI has objected to the method used to arrive at the proposed revenue-distribution model, and there are negotiations going on between the Indian board and the ICC. It is in cricket’s interest to have the BCCI at least partly satisfied with the new model, so whoever replaces Manohar will have the task of building bridges with the Indian board.
What are a few other things one should know about Manohar?
- He became head of the Vidarbha Cricket Association in 1996 and has been influential in Indian cricket ever since.
- Manohar was a long-time ally of veteran cricket administrator and Indian politician Sharad Pawar, backing him when Pawar became BCCI president in 2005.
- He then succeeded Pawar as president in 2008.
- When Manohar became BCCI president a second time, in November 2015, he resigned after seven months. At the time, the board was in turmoil because a Supreme Court-appointed panel had recommended sweeping changes to the functioning and governance of the BCCI.
Has Manohar been involved in any controversies or battles with other administrators?
- During his first stint as BCCI president, the IPL faced several corruption issues. Manohar blamed these wholly on Lalit Modi, IPL chairman between 2008 and 2010.
- He vocally opposed N Srinivasan when the latter stayed on as BCCI president despite allegations that Srinivasan was the de facto owner of Chennai Super Kings, an IPL franchise that was suspended in the aftermath of the corruption scandal in 2013. He called Srinivasan an autocrat at the time.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo