Shashank Manohar against ICC's 'bullying' big three nexus

Manohar felt that cricket boards of India, England and Australia enjoyed greater authority in ICC.

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar has expressed his desire to dismantle the Big Three nexus which control unhindered control over the running of International Cricket Council (ICC).

Manohar felt that following last year's contentious constitutional revamp, the three most powerful cricket boards - India, England and Australia - enjoyed greater authority and also larger share of ICC's revenue, according to a report in the Hindu.

Terming the three-board nexus as 'bullying', Manohar said that he hoped bring in reforms during his tenure as the president of ICC, which ends in June 2016.

“I don’t agree with the three major countries bullying the ICC,” said Manohar in an interview with the newspaper. “That’s my personal view, because as I have always said, an institution is bigger than individuals. You cannot guarantee which individual will occupy the top position in either of these countries.

“And, the ICC constitution, as it stands today, says that in all the major committees of the ICC, these three countries will be automatically there.

“So all the financial and commercial aspects and the executive committee will be controlled by the representatives of these three countries, which according to me is wrong. You should have the best man, whether he comes from Zimbabwe, or West Indies, or even from an associate or affiliate [member] to work on a committee, who will promote the interests of the ICC.”

Questioning ICC's revenue sharing pattern, he said: “I don’t agree with the revenue-sharing formula, because it’s nice to say that India [BCCI] will get 22% of the total revenue of the ICC, but you cannot make the poor poorer and the rich richer, only because you have the clout. The ICC runs cricket throughout the world.”

Since becoming BCCI's new president after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, the 58-year-old has initiated fleeting changes in Indian cricket, including the introduction of conflict of interests clause for it's officials and stake-holders.