Lawyer-turned-administrator Shashank Manohar was on Sunday 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.
Among other issues, Manohar also rejected speculation that the change of guard in the BCCI would lead to hostility towards N Srinivasan, who is currently the ICC President.
“We are not working here with a vindictive attitude. The entire Board, all 30 members including the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (headed by Srinivasan who did not attend today’s Special General Meeting) when we informally discussed, was united that all of us have to work together to build the image of this Board and that we don’t fight among ourselves and we don’t have any vindictive attitude when we decide on matters,” said Manohar.
“I can tell you Srinivasan was an excellent secretary, he was better than most of the secretaries I have come across in the Board. He was one of the best secretaries to have as I
found out during my (2008-09 to 2010-11) tenure. I don’t know what happened after I completed my term in 2011. I was not in touch. Srinivasan was by far the best secretary after Mr (Jagmohan) Dalmiya,” he added.
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.