Manohar takes over as BCCI Prez, launches operation clean-up

Lawyer-turned-administrator Shashank Manohar was today elected unopposed as the BCCI President for a second time after a gap of four years and vowed to clean up the mess in the Cricket Board by announcing a slew of reforms to restore the credibility of the game.
The 58-year-old, who began his second stint as President after being elected to the post at the Special General Body meeting, said his top priority is to restore the battered
image of the Board and sought two months' time to put the house in order.
The reforms announced by Manohar included the appointment of an ombudsman to deal with contentious issues like conflict of interest.

Laying down his roadmap for the Board, Manohar also announced several other important decisions which included central contracts of women cricketers, common auditor to monitor expenses of all the state units and putting BCCI's balance sheet on the Board website to promote transparency.
Manohar, who was elected unopposed at the Board's Special General Meeting here, said he also wants to have discussions with central government authorities to find out whether an investigating agency can be attached to the BCCI.

The move has been planned as the BCCI does not have investigating powers on matters of corruption.
"BCCI has become a huge brand due to the love of the fans and the cricket loving population of this country. Confidence of the fans has been shaken due to certain unpleasant things that have happened. It is the duty of all the representatives of the Board to bring the Board back to its original reputation," Manohar told mediapersons during his first media interaction.

"I am asking you to give me two months' time, I have two years in office," he added.
Among the reforms that Manohar plans to implement for the smooth-functioning of the Board, the appointment of Ethics Officer is top-most on his agenda.
"BCCI had formed regulation for players, coaches and staff. We are planning to have an Ombudsman or an Ethics Officer independent of the Board who can look into the complaints regarding Conflict of Interest.
"Secondly, we need to lay down the norms and measures to prevent corruption in the games. We will have more programmes to educate players," he said.