ICC Chairman election: Sourav Ganguly lone runner after Ehsan Mani pulls out

Karachi, June 18: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani said he will not contest for the post of ICC Chairman once incumbent Shashank Manohar's term gets over later this year. The statement of Mani is quite important because former Indian skipper and the current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's name has been doing rounds for the coveted role.

The BCCI, though, has not made any official commitment to the news of Ganguly running for the post. However, the BCCI official ring would like to have someone like Ganguly at the helm to smoothen out the relation with the global governing body.

The BCCI had also accused Manohar for slow-going in the decision-making process about the ICC T20 World Cup 2020, a move they believe as a plan to sabotage the conduct of IPL 2020. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia across October-November. But the future of the event looks bleak as senior officials within the Cricket Australia have expressed inability to conduct the tournament amid the existing global health condition owing to the Covid 19 pandemic.

"It is true that I will not be contesting the election. I have announced it in the media also. I was never interested. The news actually came from India. I was approached by a few to contest and I have said I am not interested," said Mani on his candidature.

"My interest in the ICC will only be through Pakistan Cricket Board. I was called by Prime Minister Imran Khan and I am working for the interest of Pakistan cricket," he said.