BCCI surprised over Shashank Manohar's decision to step down as ICC Chairman

The Indian Cricket Board on Wednesday expressed its surprise at Shashank Manohar’s sudden decision to tender his resignation from the ICC chairmanship citing personal reasons.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday expressed its surprise at the sudden decision of Mr Shashank Manohar to step down from the post of International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman,” BCCI issued a media statement.

“Mr Manohar’s contribution to Indian cricket is invaluable. He is a man of few words but excellent deeds. The BCCI Committee of Administrators (COA) was looking forward to a long-term cooperation between the ICC and BCCI with Mr Manohar at the helm of affairs. The BCCI wishes him the very best for his future endeavours,” it further stated.

There is a lot of speculation going around in the cricketing world. One of the main reasons for his resignation is believed to be the opposition that he will face with regards to proposed constitutional reforms including the two-tier World Test Championship and controversial revenue-sharing model.

There has been a meeting in Colombo where a senior BCCI functionary met officials from Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. With 4 votes needed out of 10 Test playing nations to scuttle the reforms, India, game’s financial powerhouse are back in the business.

Many are attributing India’s new found strength to the trio of CEO Rahul Johri, Vikram Limaye and Vinod Rai, who have worked tirelessly to gain support of other nations.

Manohar’s resignation and the possible rollback of the proposed revenue model will mean that the argument put forward by BCCI’s old guard that richest cricket board is in mess after Supreme Court verdict on Lodha Reforms would not hold ground.