Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke was seen as the lone challenger for Manohar for this top ICC post
The decks have been cleared for Shashank Manohar to continue as independent chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two more years as he is said to be a unanimous choice of all board members.
Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Giles Clarke was seen as the lone challenger for Manohar for this top ICC post.
But DNA has learnt that even the current ECB chairman Colines Graves is not too keen to back Clarke for the top post.
According to the ICC rules, for a person to become eligible to contest for the post of independent chairman, one of its members has to propose while one has to second a person's name. The ICC's ethics committee will then come into picture to seek the interest of the candidate apart from scrutinising his application.
Under these rules, ECB's own reluctance with Clarke seems to have sent out a wrong signal to the boards of Australia and Pakistan, which had no qualms with Clarke's elevation.
And with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also having second thoughts on supporting Clarke, Manohar's elevation during the ICC meeting in June seems a mere formality.
ICC will now throw a farewell party for Clarke on Wednesday evening at a Kolkata hotel, which is the venue of the ongoing five-day quarterly ICC meet.
Manohar had made it clear that he was open to the idea of a new term, provided it was a "unanimous decision of the board".
Though many in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wanted Manohar to leave in the wake of the reduced revenue share last year, there seems to have been a change of thought in the wake of losing this seat to someone outside the sub-continent.
"Pakistan is with BCCI when it comes to keeping the Asian block intact in ICC," a top official told DNA after the ICC meeting on Monday.
Meanwhile, BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary met PCB chairman Najam Sethi and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Subhan Ahmad on the sidelines of ICC meet.
The two parties, however, failed to make any progress on the possibility of resumption of bilateral India-Pakistan cricketing ties because of the political situation prevailing on both sides.
It is learnt that Choudhary made it clear during the meeting that "any bilateral series can only take place if central government permits".
In the current scenario, the two countries can only play each other in multi-team events like the ICC World Cup, Champions Trophy, World T20 and Asia Cup.
"The ball is in the BCCI's court," Sethi said when asked about the possibility of resumption of bilateral series.
"We hope sooner than later better sense will prevail and the two sides can get back to playing good cricket again. My sense is that all this is a melting pot and at some stage or the other, we will have to have a good resolution," added the PCB chief.
The PCB has been demanding a $70 million compensation from BCCI for its refusal to play a bilateral series, violating a 2014 memorandum of understanding under which the two were to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.
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 "Shashank Manohar")
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