Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) president Shashank Manohar, was unanimously elected to the top post for the second time on Sunday. His first stint, between 2008 and 2011, had involved carving out an administrative roadmap for a financially robust cricket board. The tenure also saw Manohar's decision-making abilities when he took some stern steps to clean up the mess in the wake of scams clouding the Indian Premier League.
His second stint is expected to be on the same lines, only this time he'll be saddled with far too many responsibilities than the first one. “Restoring the faith of the Indian cricket fan, improving credibility and image of BCCI (post the spot-fixing scandal) and bringing in transparency will be among the immediate responsibilities,” Manohar said. He said that he would not be vindictive in his dealings, despite his acrimony with the N Srinivasan-led regime that had been running BCCI until last year. Manohar, who was once friends with the Chennai-based industrialist, had been the most vocal among those who wanted Srinivasan to quit after the spot-fixing scandal broke in 2013.
“Srinivasan was a great (BCCI) secretary, the best after Jagmohan Dalmiya,” Manohar said, making it clear that he always had respect for Srinivasan's administrative abilities. However, it was in the backdrop of all the scandals and controversies in the last two years that Manohar became a strong critic of Srinivasan, saying the latter should have quit the board once the Supreme Court found his son-in-law guilty of betting and conflict of interest began to raise its ugly head in the administration.
The effort to be transparent at all times has been an inherent quality of Manohar's, one that has seen him earn the respect of most BCCI administrators who come from far more affluent and influential backgrounds. His initiative in 2010 to call off the IPL franchise auction after doubts over rigging had emerged and bringing out a fresh tender was one of Manohar's earlier successful attempts in bringing transparency within BCCI, a process that concluded with the suspension of Lalit Modi.
“The first thing would be with regard to conflict of interest issues, he said. The board will frame regulations on this within a month's time, and also appoint an independent ombudsman or ethics officer who will look into complaints (be it against administrators, players or the staff), he added.
Those who are in the knowledge of things insist that Manohar wasn't interested in returning to BCCI, particularly once he had made it clear that he wouldn't get involved in its day-to-day administration any further. However, after Dalmiya's sudden demise and for lack of a consensus candidate, he was asked to come forward once again and he obliged. All six representatives from East Zone - once considered Srinivasan's backyard - nominated Manohar for president and he was given the chair without an election.
