Manu Sawhney to replace Dave Richardson as ICC CEO from July 2019 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday (January 15) has appointed India-born Manu Sawhney as its new chief executive. Sawhney will replace former South African wicketkeeper-batsman Dave Richardson, for a top-brass position at the Dubai-based board.

Following a two-day interview procedure, the former managing director of broadcasting giant ESPN-Star Sports (ESS) and Singapore Sports Hub (SSH) will be joining the reputed organization in mid-February. However, Sawhney is all set to take over incumbent Richardson in July officially following the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. At the same time, Sawhney’s contract period has not been revealed in the ICC’s latest press release.

The interview panel comprised of Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Earl Eddings, independent director Indra Nooyi alongside Board of Control for Cricket in India’s interim secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and David Cameron, the president for Cricket West Indies.

Moreover, the latest addition came as a unanimous choice approved by the world cricket governing body ICC under the tutelage of its chairman Shashank Manohar and the Board Nomination Committee. The committee met in London to name the next CEO among four shortlisted candidates.

“I am delighted to confirm Manu’s appointment today. He brings 22 years of outstanding commercial experience to the ICC and will lead the delivery of our new global growth strategy for the game. Our search produced a host of excellent candidates from around the world, but Manu stood out as the man to work with our Members and take cricket forward,” ICC digital quoted Manohar as saying in a press release.

Sawhney’s job is to work on the leadership owing to the smooth growth of the global cricketing brand.

At ESPN-Star Sports, Sawhney worked for over 17 years which further saw him landing in a mega broadcast partnership deal with the ICC between 2007 and 2015. Sawhney has equally expressed his excitement after landing into another lucrative job.

“He has proven success in a number of leadership roles in both sport and broadcasting. He is a strategic thinker and understands the cricket landscape and its complexities. The decision of the Nominations Committee to recommend Manu to the Board was a unanimous one. And I and my fellow directors are looking forward to working with him,” Manohar added.

Sawhney added he is looking forward to giving his best after the ICC has reposed faith on experienced media professional.

“It is a great privilege and responsibility to serve the global cricket community as CEO of the ICC. The sport has more than a billion fans and an ambitious growth strategy. So, it is a very exciting time to lead the organization. I’d like to thank the ICC Board for giving me this opportunity and look forward to working with them, our Members, the team and ICC’s incredible partners and cricketers around the world to propel the sport forward into a period of significant and sustained global growth in the coming years,” Sawhney asserted.

As per the presser, ICC appointed Egon Zehnder, the global firm to identify prospective employees in September 2019. However, the reliable sources revealed criterion for head-hunting was based on to pick the CEO other than the cricketing background.

On this basis, former South African cricketer Steve Elworthy was ruled out among the potential candidates. Interestingly, Elworthy is serving as the managing director of 2019 ICC World Cup.