PCB chief Ehsan Mani against Indian becoming ICC chief again, labels Pak better than Aus

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said in an interview with Forbes this month that he thinks it would be healthier if the new chairman of the ICC did not come from one of the 'big three' cricketing boards. Mani's statement comes after the resignation of Shashank Manohar, who became the first independent chairman of the ICC when he took over in 2016. At the time of Manohar's resignation, ICC put out a statement saying that it would finalise the procedure for the election of the next chairman within 14 days. 

Two months on, the body is no closer to appointing a successor and still hasn't reached a consensus on the election procedure. In his interview, Ehsan Mani told Forbes that it is very unfortunate that the election has been delayed for so long, stating that "there is a huge problem of conflict of interest on the board. The ICC is crying out for more independent directors." He also accused the "big three" of rotating hosting rights amongst themselves and supplementing their already large incomes from the revenue from these events.

The ex-ICC chairman also pointed out that he would not be interested in running for the post again. The current PCB chairman said that some countries will not be able to survive the ICC's skewed funding model continued for much longer. "We survived without playing India. Can you imagine if that happened to Cricket Australia if India didn't come?" He also clarified that the PCB is hoping to host a World Cup in the 2023-31 cycle of ICC events.

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Shashank Manohar's legacy as ICC's first independent chairman

While Manohar's run as the ICC chairman has received praise from many, he has not found favour with most cricket fans and administrators in India. During his time as the head of the game's top governing body, Manohar implemented several new arrangements aimed at reducing the influence of the BCCI, ECB and Cricket Australia on international cricket. This included advocating for ICC tournaments to be held across all member countries and revising the financial model to allow fairer distribution of money among member countries. His moves caused the BCCI's revenue from the ICC to take a deep dive. On his retirement, CSK owner N. Shrinivasan remarked that it was "good riddance" and that Manohar had caused irreparable damage to India's prospects at the ICC.

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Shashank Manohar's potential successors

Singapore's Imran Khwaja has been announced as the stand-in chairperson and might make a bid for the top position. Other than him ECB's Colin Graves, BCCI's Sourav Ganguly, New Zealand's Greg Barclay and West Indies' Dave Cameron have all been touted as successors to Manohar. Current BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly's candidature will be subject to the Supreme Court hearing regarding his cooling-off period. 

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Image credits: ICC