Sourav Ganguly replaced by Ehsan Mani as favourite to become next ICC chairman: Report

According to recent reports, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is out of contention to become the next ICC chairman. There were reports in the past that suggested that the former India skipper was leading the race for the post of ICC chairman after it was revealed that Shashank Manohar would not stand for another term after his tenure ends with the ICC annual conference in July.

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BCCI President Sourav Ganguly out of contention to become next ICC chairman

Sourav Ganguly was elected as the BCCI President last October but his tenure technically concludes in July after which he would need to undergo a three-year cooling-off period. Subsequently, it was reported that Sourav Ganguly might replace Manohar as the next ICC chairman. However, according to Pakistan's The News, Sourav Ganguly is no more in the race to replace Manohar.

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The report further states that PCB chairman Ehsan Mani is now leading the race to become the next chairman of the governing body of the game. Sources said that Ehsan Mani accepted the role to become PCB chairman after being convinced by Prime Minister Imran Khan. He took the responsibility as he wanted to serve Pakistan cricket. However, he will have to leave PCB prematurely if he agrees to contest the election and is successful in the bid to become ICC Chairman.

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The sources further said that pressure is mounting on Ehsan Mani to accept the coveted role of ICC chairman from several of the top Test-playing nations. On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly is out of the race as several Test-playing nations are cautious of too much Indian influence in world cricket. But Ehsan Mani is yet to accept the offer from various ICC member nations to contest the election. Mani has prior experience in heading the ICC as its erstwhile President from 2003-2006.

Sourav Ganguly optimistic about IPL 2020

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Presidents and Secretaries of all the affiliated members of India's apex cricketing body regarding the resumption of domestic and international cricket post-COVID-19 pandemic. Providing an update about the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which was scheduled to start from March 29 but has been indefinitely postponed, Ganguly said that BCCI is working on "all possible" options to ensure that the IPL 2020 is staged this year.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PTI