The International Cricket Council board will set the ball rolling for the Independent Chair at the virtual meeting slated for tomorrow (Thursday).
The Board at the earlier two teleconferences has failed to arrive at any conclusion on crucial issues like the election process to find the successor of Independent Chair Shashank Manohar and the status of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.
The election process and the date remain the top priority for the meeting tomorrow. The ICC is also under pressure from member nations to take a call on the World Cup Down Under.
The global cricket calendar has been rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unless ICC makes an official announcement on the status of the World Cup, national cricket boards will not be in a position to reschedule their bilateral series or domestic calendar.
Postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 is a foregone conclusion. Cricket Australia executives have time and again stated that it won’t be viable to stage the 16-team global competition this year. CA has also reportedly communicated its stand to the ICC.
The world governing body, however, was in a position of discomfort to decide the fate of the World Cup unless it finds an alternate schedule. Despite all speculation, there has been no conclusive discussion on the World Cup during the previous two teleconferences. The ICC at the last meeting had deferred the issue till July.
SportzFront has, however, reliably learnt that the board tomorrow may give an in principle nod to shift the World Cup 2020 from its original October-November schedule. A formal announcement on the next dates will though take some more time. The board in all likelihood will leave the crucial issue of the rescheduling of the World Cup to be decided under the next Chair.
Election of Independent Chair
England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves remains the sole confirmed contender for the post as of now after incumbent Shashank Manohar had declined to seek another term and Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani has turned down the request by several boards to return to the ICC apex office.
In spite of all speculation, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has not revealed his cards even as there has been vocal support for his candidature from a number of national cricket boards. Ganguly will be a strong contenders if the BCCI decides to nominate its president for the ICC chair.
Ganguly under the present BCCI constitution will have to vacate the board president’s office next month unless the Supreme Court of India permits him to a serve full term. An adverse verdict from the apex court will strengthen the possibility of Ganguly seeking graduation to the international cricket body.
The cricket world will have to wait for some more time to know the nomination and candidatures, but the date and process for the election appears a certain outcome from the meeting tomorrow.
The meeting is slated to start at 3:30 pm India time.