Srinivasan's removal good for ICC's image

Shashank Manohar (left) takes over N. Srinivasan's position as ICC chairman and will serve till June. The latter was forced out as the ICC ruled that an administrator removed by his home board cannot serve in the world governing body.
Shashank Manohar (above) takes over N. Srinivasan's position as ICC chairman and will serve till June. The latter was forced out as the ICC ruled that an administrator removed by his home board cannot serve in the world governing body.
Shashank Manohar (left) takes over N. Srinivasan's position as ICC chairman and will serve till June. The latter was forced out as the ICC ruled that an administrator removed by his home board cannot serve in the world governing body.
Shashank Manohar takes over N. Srinivasan's position as ICC chairman and will serve till June. The latter was forced out as the ICC ruled that an administrator removed by his home board cannot serve in the world governing body.

LONDON • The head of world cricket has been replaced, as the new regime in India continued on its promise to clean up the image of the game after corruption scandals in its heartland last year.

Shashank Manohar, a lawyer, takes over from N. Srinivasan as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and fills the role until the end of June, when it is due to be taken on by Giles Clarke, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) president.

The departure of Srinivasan will immediately improve perceptions of the ICC.

He held the most powerful position at the governing body despite being forced to stand down from office at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in March last year.

India's Supreme Court decided that he had a conflict of interest with the Indian Premier League.

Manohar, 58, was elected president of the BCCI last month after the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

He has been a longstanding critic of Srinivasan, whose son-in-law was found guilty of illegal betting while serving at the Chennai Super Kings franchise, owned by Srinivasan via India Cements.

Srinivasan, 70, was not indicted.

Arguably the biggest challenge for Manohar is to show that India can be a force for good after the carve-up of ICC power and finances with Australia and England last year, and that it will not abuse the economic might that enables it to make or break some of the smaller Test-playing countries.

The ICC's rules state that an administrator who is removed by his home board cannot serve in the world governing body, which effectively ended Srinivasan's tenure.

Asked if he was pleased with his elevation, Manohar said: "There's no question of satisfaction because I never aspired to this."

The top post will be handed over to England in 2016 for two years, followed by a representative from Australia.

Srinivasan made light of his ouster, saying he can now go ahead and improve his golf handicap.

"It is the prerogative of the BCCI president to be the ICC chairman," he told NDTV.

"I want to focus on my cement business and use the spare time to improve my golf handicap."

Cricket's spiralling popularity in India helped make the BCCI the richest board under his stewardship and many smaller cricketing nations became increasingly reliant on India's largesse.

THE TIMES, LONDON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 11, 2015, with the headline Srinivasan's removal good for ICC's image. Subscribe