DUBAI: ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has been re-elected for cricket’s top job unanimously here on Tuesday. He was the only nominee put forward by the ICC. Manohar will serve another two-year term, having been elected as the chairman back in 2016.
During the last two years, Manohar has led significant reform of the sport, reversing the resolutions of 2014, introducing a revised governance structure, including the appointment of the ICC’s first independent female Director and the development of international cricket structures that bring context to the global game and provide more opportunities for more Members to compete. These seemed to have gone in his favour.
“It is an honour to be re-elected as the chairman of the International Cricket Council and I would like to thank my fellow ICC directors for their continued support. Together we have made big strides over the last two years, fulfilling promises I made to the sport when I was appointed in 2016,” Manohar said on his successful candidature.
“Over the next two years we can look forward to launching a global strategy for the sport in partnership with our members so we can grow the game and ensure more of the world can enjoy cricket. The sport is in good health but we are the guardians of the game and we must continue to work hard to maintain that,” he signed off.
ICC, BCCI to meet in Delhi
The ICC’s working group will be conducting a meeting with top BCCI officials in the capital on Thursday to come up with plans to solve some complex issues regarding cricket such as the future of Tests, the Press Trust of India reports.
The ICC’s working group is responsible forcreating policies and then taking feedback about them from its stakeholders such as member boards and sponsors.
BCCI acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry and CEO Rahul Johri could be kept updated about the ICC working group’s progress in the meeting.
The agenda is likely to involve discussions on the ways of bringing in more crowds and dealing with the popularity of T20 cricket, which seems to hamper the future of Test matches. The working group will make a comprehensive report based on this meeting.
“Test cricket is the ultimate format and I am sure all the stakeholders will be working a way out to sustain the level of interest. I believe that all three formats can co-exist. I expect that suggestions given by the BCCI will be taken seriously,” BCCI acting president CK Khanna told the newswire.
Day-night Test matches could also be discussed. The BCCI has had to face much flak over refusing to play a match of such kind in Australia later this year, when the general feeling is that this is one of the best ways to save Test cricket due to lack of crowds in countries apart from Australia, England and India.
Many instances in the past such as with West Indies cricket, have shown that young cricketers would prefer freelancing in private T20 leagues than playing for their country due to financial security. Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain, had echoed this sentiment recently in an interview.
