Manohar to remain ICC Chairman

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced that Chairman Shashank Manohar has agreed to defer his recent resignation following an ICC Board resolution to request him to remain in the post "until the ongoing process relating to governance and financial restructuring are completed".

ICC said in a release that Manohar, who quit on March 15 citing personal reasons, agreed to defer his recent resignation following an ICC Board resolution to request him to remain in the post which was passed with overwhelming support earlier this week.

Manohar said: "I respect the sentiments expressed by the Directors and the confidence they have reposed in me. In the light of this, and although my decision to depart due to personal reasons has not changed, I am willing to continue as Chairman till the responsibility as per the resolution is complete.

"I have duty to work with my colleagues to enable a smooth transition and continue our work on the governance of the ICC."

The 59-year-old was elected unopposed as the ICC's first independent chairman last year. His two-year term will end in May 2018.

Manohar took over the post from N. Srinivasan in May last year after giving up his position of BCCI president.

Since then, he has tried to curb the disproportionate amount of power wielded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The ICC had passed in principle a new constitution last month that corrected some of the imbalance in influence and financial power of the BCCI, CA and ECB.

CA Chairman David Peever said: "This resolution is a clear indication that whilst the Board may not yet agree on the detail of our reform process, we are committed to the overarching philosophies of it.

"We all believe that Shashank should be the man to see it through and whilst respectful of a decision made for personal reasons, we are delighted that he has agreed to remain in the post until the completion of the 2017 Annual Conference where we can elect a successor."

BCCI's Vikram Limaye added: "It is important that the current issues are resolved to everyone's satisfaction. We had a productive meeting with Manohar recently (prior to his resignation) wherein we outlined the concerns of BCCI on the financial model and governance issues and our suggestions for resolution.

"We are committed to working with ICC for a satisfactory resolution of these issues."

Nazmul Hassan, President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said: "For the greater interest of cricket, we need Shashank as the Chairman of ICC especially at this critical juncture. He can be assured of our full support."

--IANS

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