Shashank Manohar

Shashank Manohar
Born	Shashank Vyankatesh Manohar (1957-09-29) 29 September 1957 Nagpur, India[1]
Residence	Abhyankar Road, Dhantoli, Nagpur
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Lawyer
Title	President of BCCI
Term	2008–2011
Predecessor	Sharad Pawar
Successor	N. Srinivasan
Spouse(s)	Varsha Manohar
Children	Adwait Manohar[2]
Parent(s)	V. R. Manohar[3] & Sandhya Manohar

Shashank Vyankatesh Manohar (ⁱ/ʃəˈʃɑːnk məˈnoʊhər/; born 29 September 1957)^[4] is a prominent Indian lawyer who also served as the 29th President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2008 to 2011.^[5] As a cricket administrator he is known for his impeccable track record & integrity in cricketing circles, justifying the predicate '"Mr.Clean"' attributed to him.^[6][7][8] He is often credited as the 'best president BCCI ever had'.^[8]

Board of Control for Cricket in India Presidency

During his presidency India became the No 1 Test side & won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final.^[9] In June 2010 after giving Lalit Modi who was chairman IPL and vice-president BCCI during IPL season 3, a fair hearing through the BCCI disciplinary committee, he suspended Lalit Modi for his misdemeanors which brought a bad name to the administration of Cricket and the game itself.^[10][11] For this he was lauded nationwide for restoring some of the harm done to cricket's image after the Lalit Modi affair.^[12] Before being president of BCCI, he was President of Vidarbha Cricket Association.^[1]

2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing saga

He has lashed out at the players involved in the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case and said that every match in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) should be investigated.^[13][14] It was widely speculated that he would be given the interim charge of the BCCI in the aftermath of the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing case.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} But he refused to be the caretaker chief of BCCI, if N. Srinivasan continues in his role as the BCCI president.^[20][21] He had told BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley in clear terms before 2 June 2013 working committee meeting that he was "not interested" in taking charge of the Board on an ad-hoc basis because such an adhoc appointment is void as per the BCCI constitution. The BCCI constitution does not have a provision for Dual Presidency.^[22][23][24]

Allegations of foreign exchange violations in the IPL tournament held in South Africa in 2009

In June 2013 the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent him a notice for adjudication issued against him over allegations of foreign exchange violations in the IPL tournament held in South Africa in 2009, for which he approached the Bombay High Court challenging the notice. His counsel told the Bombay High Court that Lalit Modi who was chairman IPL and vice-president BCCI during IPL in 2009 took all major decisions after approval from the BCCI committee. Lalit Modi could have received his first 'reprimand' from Manohar way back in March 2010, but former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, then a member of the Governing Council, requested that the 'reprimand' not be recorded.^[25] Manohar had clearly advised the IPL governing council to first take permission from RBI and only then open an account in South Africa.^[26] In response, the Bombay High Court quashed and set aside the notice issued by Enforcement Directorate (ED).^[27]

BCCI elections September 2013

The mood within the BCCI was one of gloom and doom as members fumed and fretted over the murky state of affairs that has made Indian cricket an object of global ridicule. Even though a majority of members wanted Srinivasan out and had the numbers to do so, they were rendered powerless by a technicality. The Tamil Nadu strongman had all but made sure he will be elected unopposed as his rivals didn't have a proposer and seconder from South Zone for their candidate. Under BCCI rules, a contender for the top post must have the endorsement of at least two units from the zone whose turn it is to elect the president.^[28]

Manohar, who has always had a clean image as an administrator, tore apart Srinivasan in an interview to the tabloid Mumbai Mirror on 3 October 2013. He said that as N.Srinivasan was responsible for the mess in BCCI, he shouldn't be BCCI president any more. He further said "Srinivasan has no right to continue as president. If you had the slightest of conscience, self-esteem and care for the board, you ought to have put in your papers the moment your son-in-law (Gurunath Meiyappan) was arrested [for betting in IPL. You did nothing and, as a result, the board's reputation has taken a hit to the extent that the people have lost faith in this board." He concluded by saying: "I left the board two years back and I have not entered its premises again. I have no intention to come back. I said if all the members want me, I will not shirk the responsibility. This board has given me a lot and I was willing to give something back." ^[29][30]

April 2014 BCCI emergent Working committee meeting

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) called an emergent working committee meeting in Mumbai on Sunday, 20 April 2014, to decide its future course of action following the Supreme Court's order that forced N Srinivasan to step aside as the cricket board's president. The meeting was called after several state associations wrote to the BCCI interim president (administration) Shivlal Yadav, demanding a discussion on the ongoing issues. Many state cricket association members think that only Shashank Manohar can restore cricket board's credibility. They wanted Manohar to lend his voice to their unhappiness at the meeting.

After attending the Working Committee meeting as a representative of Vidarbha Cricket Association, Manohar said "I can't disclose what happened at the meeting. All I can say is I was disillusioned with the happenings. I had gone there with the purpose of cleaning up the image of the Board in public domain, but I was disillusioned."^[31]

Manohar was outvoted 14–1 at the meeting for the appointment of three-member inquiry panel. The working committee appointed N.Srinivasan's cronies to investigate his own wrongdoings in the board.^[31][31][32]

Manohar had said [in the April 2014 Working committee meeting] that Justice Mudgal who is completely unbiased & can effectively probe the scam with the help of CBI instead of the 3 members elected by Srinivasan's cronies.^[33]

On 22 April 2014 the Supreme Court of India endorsed Shashank Manohar's view & rejected BCCI's proposed panel to probe IPL scam, asked Mudgal committee if it can help probe the scam with the help of CBI.^[31]

Justice Mudgal Committee report in the IPL corruption scandal

In April 2014 the Supreme Court of India appointed probe commission headed by (Retd) Justice Mukul Mudgal to investigate the betting and match fixing scandal in the IPL. The committee also included Additional Solicitor General L Nageswara Rao, advocate Nilay Datta, Deputy DG (Narcotics Control Bureau) BB Mishra and the police departments in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to assist the investigation.

N.Srinivasan named in the Mudgal Committee Report

In November 2014 in response to the final submission of the Mudgal Committee Report, a special bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising justice TS Thakur and FM Kalifullah has named & issued notices to four key individuals including N Srinivasan and Gurunath Meiyappan in connection with the Mudgal report into the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case, which, the court observed, had suggested several "misdemeanours" by the duo.

In view of the court's observation, Manohar urged the BCCI member associations to take a stance. "The image of the Board is tarnished by the actions and the attitude of Mr Srinivasan. The gentlemen's game, as the game of cricket has long been known, and the reputation of the Board is at its lowest due to the egoistic and autocratic behaviour of one individual. The Board and the game of Cricket is bigger than any individual and it is the responsibility and duty of every individual connected with the game to preserve the dignity and integrity of the Game and the Board, and through this press note, I appeal to all members of the Board to rise to the occasion and prevent the Board and the Game from being further destroyed."

Manohar said on Friday that the BCCI was flouting its own constitution by repeatedly putting off its Annual General Meeting that should have been held before September 30. "It appears that during today's hearing, as soon as the names of Srinivasan and Meiyappan were disclosed, the counsel for the BCCI made a request for the postponement of the AGM and elections scheduled on November 20," Manohar said. "It is thus evident that the instructions given to the Board counsel are only with an intent to suit Srinivasan as that would ensure that he still remains a back-seat driver," said Manohar. The AGM has been postponed by four weeks, the second time it has been deferred, a first in BCCI's history!

The former BCCI president argued that since the Supreme Court has named Srinivasan and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, it means there are allegations of corruption against them in the report. Yet Srinivasan remote controls the BCCI, complained Manohar.

It has been widely said that Manohar may once again reform a new axis that could challenge Srinivasan's juggernaut in BCCI in the upcoming AGM. ^{[34] [35] [36]}

References