Shashank Manohar: Will The Honest Man Succeed in His Second Innings in BCCI?
Shashank Manohar is a man of few words but high integrity. As he is set to take over as the BCCI president again, the challenges in front of him are tougher with the cricket body fighting to save its image from the IPL spot-fixing controversy.
Lawyers can be quite crafty with their words but exceptions do remain, with some choosing to stay blunt and honest all their life. Shashank Manohar, who is poised to be the next BCCI president on October 4, belongs to that minority section. (Shashank Manohar Appointed BCCI President for Second Time)
At a time when Indian cricket is reeling under pressure to cleanse its image of the muck caused by the 2013 IPL spot-fixing controversy, it is coincidental that the man who first protested against the shady side of this glitzy tournament is returning to the helm. (N Srinivasan to Stay Away from Shashank Manohar's Crowning Glory)
In 2010, during his first term as the BCCI president, Manohar had pulled up the then IPL chairman Lalit Modi for putting some 'fixed' norms in the bid for two new teams to favour certain parties. After Manohar's intervention, fresh auctions were held and BCCI raked in USD 703 million from it.
It did not stop there and after the final of the 2010 IPL, Manohar threw Modi out of the cricketing arena on 22 charges of nepotism and corruption, inspite of pressure from every section.
The controversial auction of 2010 was the start of the IPL's fall and it reached its nadir when big names like former BCCI chairman N. Srinivasan, Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were linked with betting charges in IPL.
As Manohar gets ready for his second term as the BCCI head, after 2008-2011, doubts still remain whether Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will ever play in the IPL. For a simple and honest man who till 2007 did not have a mobile phone, the task seems easy as well as tough at the same time.
Given his track record he can be extremely persuasive, and the way he heralded the Sharad Pawar-era in BCCI in 2005 only proves that. It was under the leadership of Manohar that the Pawar camp garnered the necessary votes to defeat Ranbir Singh Mahendra for the top post.
Manohar looks a picture of contrast when it comes to enjoying the powers that a cricket administrator has in India. His first foreign trip was in 2008 as BCCI president to an ICC meeting in Dubai, whereas his family's connection with political bigwigs go back a long way.
The former president of Vidarbha Cricket Association has remained the same way all these years. It, however, remains to be seen whether the same qualities will help Manohar pull out the BCCI from the greater problems that it finds itself in.