Why it's sad to see Shashank Manohar abandoning BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed in a press release on Tuesday (May 10) that Shashank Manohar had resigned from his post of president. Not only that, he had also resigned as the BCCI representative on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council.

While it is clear that the move comes as he is keen to take over as the first independent chairman of the ICC, what baffles many is the sudden decision of supposedly one of the cleanest men to have entered cricket administration in India to abandon a sinking ship (BCCI) at a time when the Supreme Court has ripped the Board apart for lack of transparency and inability to abide by the recommendations of the Lodha committee.

Taking over after the sudden demise of former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya barely seven months back, Manohar had promised to clean the image of the Board and win back the trust of the fans after the Supreme Court pulled it up for its inability to deal with various pressing issues.

It would be unfair to say that he didn’t keep his promises. He did in fact look into most of the cases.

Also read: Shashank Manohar has restored BCCI's credibility by ousting Srinivasan

Under him, the BCCI framed regulations with regard to conflict of interests of administrators as well as players — after the N Srinivasan saga. Former chief justice of Madras and Delhi High Court AP Shah was also appointed as the first ombudsman who would be independent of the Board and look into the complaints with regard to conflict of interests.

Further, the Board appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to assess how state associations were using the funds being granted to them by the BCCI. The Board also appointed Deloitte to strengthen its governance structure and improve financial procedures.

This apart, Manohar also ensured that the balance sheet of the Board is put up on the BCCI’s website so that the general public can check on the financial happenings in the Board. He further ensured that any expenditure above Rs 25 lakh is put up on the BCCI website.

Also read: Why cleansing BCCI is much like cleaning Ganga

Apart from this, he also ensured that women’s cricket gets attention and he started a contract system even for women cricketers.

While all looked hunky-dory to start with, trouble started from the moment the Lodha committee submitted its recommendations to the Supreme Court on the measures to be undertaken to restructure the BCCI and ensure transparency.

Even though Manohar and secretary Anurag Thakur claimed that they were keen to implement the Lodha committee’s suggestions, these six points have created major issues within the Board and no solution has been found till date:

1. No person can be an office-bearer in the BCCI or state association after attaining an age of 70 years.

2. One state association-one vote.

3. Three terms of three years for office-bearers with a cooling off period after each term.

4. Two terms of three years for a BCCI president and also that he cannot contest for any other post once he is elected president.

5. A person cannot simultaneously be an office-bearer of the BCCI and a state association.

6. Bringing the BCCI under RTI to improve accountability and transparency.

At a time when the Supreme Court is time and again pulling up the BCCI for failing to implement the recommendations of the Lodha committee, it is sad to see Manohar leaving a sinking ship for greener pastures.