Shashank Manohar Quits as BCCI President

Shashank Manohar has resigned as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He took over the position following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya in September 2015.

Manohar was BCCI president from 2008-2011 as well and was  later replaced by N. Srinivasan

In addition to resigning as president of the BCCI, Manohar also stepped down as the BCCI representative in the ICC.

In a letter addressed to Anurag Thakur, the secretary of the BCCI, Manohar 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.”

Manohar’s exit means that this is the shortest-ever tenure by a BCCI president. There were speculations that Manohar will quit  as the president of the BCCI in order to contest for the post of independent chairman of the International Cricket Council.

According to the ICC rules, the chairman should be of independent nature and can’t act in a dual role keeping his position as his country’s cricketing chief.

The Supreme Court of India is also giving a series of proposals that is aimed at changing the governance style of the Board.

The Justice RM Lodha Comittee has suggested to the Supreme Court how the BCCI should be run with greater transparency since the board is discharging a public function. Meanwhile, the BCCI, acting on Justice Lodha’s Proposals, has already appointed its first-ever CEO Rahul Johri.

A top BCCI administrator told PTI: “We all had an idea that Shashank will be quitting BCCI post. But let’s not get into a debate as to whether he has dumped a sinking ship or not. Whether it has been prudent on his part to quit when BCCI is going through tough times is a matter of conjecture.”

According to the constitution, the secretary of the board can call for a special general meeting (SGM) within 15 days to elect the new president. East Zone, who proposed Manohar’s nomination in the aftermath of Dalmiya’s death, will once again have the decision making powers to vote in the president.

Sources say BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla are in the race to take over the hot seat.