BCCI president and ICC chairman Shashank Manohar’s decision to vacate country’s one of the most lucrative sporting governing bodies’ top most position opened the pandora box as a new tussle among the BCCI mandarins and their members already started for the post.
The Nagpur lawyer Manohar took over the presidency in 2015 when Supreme Court grilled former president N Srinivasan for conflict of interest issue. According to news reports by several media three names have emerged in the race to replace Manohar.
Manohar is in line to become ICC’s first ever independent chairman in May and could hold the position till 2021.
“In the present scenario, he (Shashank Manohar) knows he can’t do much in the BCCI with the way the Supreme Court is viewing things,” said a source close to the development.
“The ICC post gives him a stable five-year window and an opportunity to make history as possibly the administrator who brought all countries (member boards of the ICC) together, and struck off the so-called monopoly of the Big Three. Look how the West Indies and Pakistan boards have already started praising him for what he’s done,” the source further added
Manohar has great future in ICC and he may get votes from boards like Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He also promised to work for cricket’s development in non-cricket playing countries.
Manohar promised to reform the board bu denied to accept Supreme Court recommendations that brought criticism from the apex court of the country.
Ajay Shirke, Rajeev Shukla, and current joint secretary Anurag Thakur are now the favorites to occupy the hot seat of Indian cricket.
Nevertheless, BJP will try to play their cards here too. So Congress RS MP Shukla, who is the IPL commissioner, close to BJP’s go to man Arun Jaitley, the current finance minister of India. Shukla though he is a Congress MP he is known for his networking.
On the other hand, Anurag Thakur is a close confidant of BJP president Amit Shah who is also close to Indian Minister Narendra Modi. Because of Amit Shah Thakur has become the young BJP members’ face. So Thakur will have an edge to hold the post. But Shukla who can solve any issue with his networking is a big contender for his ability to resolve any controversy with his networking power.
Besides these two names Mumbai Cricket Association president and former BCCI treasurer also on the line as he would like to use the local network and members of the westerns India’s cricket boards’.
However, at the end, it is expected that the cold war will be between the camp of Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley’s.