Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as ICC's first independent Chairman

Veteran cricket administrator Shashank Manohar was today elected unopposed as ICC's first independent Chairman, two days after he stepped down from the post of BCCI President.

The 58-year-old was elected to the post after the ICC Full Council's approval of constitutional amendments proposed by the Board following its April meeting.

Manohar, who on Tuesday resigned as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is the first elected independent Chairman of the game's governing body and will commence his two-year term with immediate effect.

According to the election process, ICC directors were each allowed to nominate one candidate, who had to be either a present or past ICC director. Nominees with the support of two or more Full Member directors would have been eligible to contest the election, which was scheduled to have been concluded by May 23.

However, given that Manohar was the sole nominee for the position and the Board has now unanimously supported his appointment, the independent Audit Committee Chairman, Adnan Zaidi, who has been overseeing the election process, has declared the process complete, and Manohar the successful candidate, the ICC said in a release.

Manohar is a prominent Indian lawyer who served his first stint as the BCCI President from 2008-2011. Following the passing of Jagmohan Dalmiya, Manohar was re-elected as the BCCI President in October 2015 and, by virtue of that position, has held the role of ICC Chairman since then.

Commenting on his election, Manohar said, "It is an honour to be elected as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council and for that I am thankful to all the ICC directors who have put their faith and trust in my abilities. I also take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues in the BCCI who have supported me during my recent time as the BCCI's President.

"These are exciting times for international cricket as we are presently carrying out a comprehensive review of the 2014 constitutional amendments which is aimed at not only improving governance structures, but cricket structures as well. The ultimate objective is to grow our sport and engage a whole new generation of fans and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to shape the future of cricket, which has a proud history and rich tradition," he added.

In order to accommodate the new position of an "independent" ICC Chairman, on Monday the Full Council unanimously approved various amendments to the ICC's constitution. The amendments also included the abolishment of the President's post with effect from the 2016 ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh, which has become redundant.

Manohar, who had vowed to clean Indian cricket in the wake of the IPL spot fixing scandal, resigned from the BCCI top post barely seven months into his tenure.

Manohar, who had taken over the reins of the cash-rich body for a second term following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya, left the BCCI at a time when it is resisting the sweeping reforms recommended by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha panel.

In a letter addressed to BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, Manohar had said, "I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect from the post of President of Board of Control for Cricket in India. I also resign with immediate effect as the representative of BCCI on the International Cricket Council, as also the Asian Cricket Council on which I was nominated by the General Body of BCCI."

"I thank all my colleagues and the staff for their support and cooperation during my tenure. I wish all of you all the very best in taking the cause of Cricket to greater heights," he added.