Shashank Manohar quits as BCCI president, to take up ICC full-time?

Mumbai: Shashank Manohar has stepped down from as BCCI president on Tuesday. The Nagpur bigwig had taken over the role last year after the position was left vacant following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

Manohar, lawyer by profession, has also resigned from the post of International Cricket Council chairman.

In a letter addressed to Anurag Thakur, the secretary of the BCCI, Manohar said, "I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect from the post of President of Board of Control for Cricket in India. I also resign with immediate effect as the representative of BCCI on the International Cricket Council, as also the Asian Cricket Council on which I was nominated by the General Body of BCCI. I thank all my colleagues and the staff for their support and cooperation during my tenure. I wish all of you all the very best in taking the cause of Cricket to greater heights."

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Manohar only took the board's top position last October and his term was one of the shortest terms ever served by a president. Manohar's predecessor Jagmohan Dalmiya's reign lasted only six months — from March to September 2015 — until he passed away.

While Manohar is BCCI's nominated chairman in ICC, the executive board of the global body has passed a rule that ICC's chairman should be of independent nature and can't act in dual role keeping his position as his country's cricketing chief.

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With Manohar's name doing the rounds, speculation was rife in Indian cricketing circles whether the Vidarbha lawyer would indeed take the plunge quitting his top post in BCCI.

"There is still some way to go before this becomes a reality. You have to first get the proposals passed by executive committee ratified at the ICC Annual Conference in June. Also you are talking about Shashank leaving BCCI for ICC. Now what is the guarantee that the new BCCI president whosoever it is will agree to Shashank's ICC candidature," a former BCCI secretary and an influential administrator from west zone had then said on conditions of anonymity.

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While those in the know of things felt that Manohar won't take that risk if he cannot gather consensus in the matter.

"Keep in account that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) are not exactly very pleased after his decision to dismantle the revenue sharing structure where 'Big Three' got the share of the pie."

As per BCCI rules, a Special General Meeting (SGM) has to be convened within 15 days, apprising the members of the current situation. It is the prerogative of secretary Thakur to call such a meeting.

As per norms, Manohar has also resigned from ICC chairman's post as he was a BCCI representative at the apex body and resignation in country's board effectively means that he does not stay as ICC's chairman. His tenure was supposed to end in June, 2016, after which he was set to take over as the first independent chairman of ICC.