Shashank Manohar declines extension, BCCI says an Indian could contest for ICC chairman post - Cricket news

Shashank Manohar has declared he will not seek another term as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and also declined an offer of an extension. At a conference call among the board members of the ICC on Tuesday, the Nagpur-based ICC boss put to rest speculation over a likely extension of his term by a few months in view of the COVID-19 situation. The ICC will now have to come up with a process to find a new chairman.

Following this the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it is not ruling out the possibility of an Indian candidate, read Sourav Ganguly, putting up his candidature for the ICC top position. “We’re not ruling out any possibility, whether to back an Indian or a non-Indian. Let the ICC announce the process first,” a BCCI office-bearer told Mirror.

The world body said identifying the process is taking time and it could be announced after another round of meeting among the board members. The meeting will take place on Thursday. “The ICC Board met on Tuesday to discuss the process for electing the next Chair of the ICC. No final decision was taken regarding the election process and the subject will be discussed further at the next ICC Board meeting on Thursday,” the ICC said in a statement.

It further said, “The existing Chair confirmed he was not seeking an extension to his term but would support the Board to ensure a smooth transition.”

The challenge before the ICC is to start the election process and complete it in six weeks. The chairman-elect has to be ready by mid-July when the annual conference is expected to take place, which is where the changeover happens. This year, the annual conference was originally planned in Johannesburg. But given the ongoing global lockdown, the annual conference may be a telephonic affair.

Should the process take longer, Manohar may have to accept a brief extension -- of a few weeks – and it is learned that he has agreed to do that as long as it is only a temporary arrangement.