New BCCI president Shashank Manohar promises to clean up board's image in two months

New BCCI president Shashank Manohar has said his first priority is to clean up the image of the board and restore the faith of India’s cricket fans in it. He also promised the board would function in a transparent manner under his leadership but made it clear all actions of the board did not need to be public and that the RTI Act did not, and should not, apply to it. Addressing the press at the BCCI cricket centre at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai following the Special General Meeting at which he was the only candidate nominated by the East Zone to succeed the recently deceased Jagmohan Dalmiya, Manohar asked for two months to implement his reforms and promised that he would answer any questions after that should he fail. [caption id=“attachment_2454414” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Newly elected BCCI President Shashank Manohar during a Press Conference in Mumbai on Sunday. PTI[/caption] The steps that Manohar outlined are as follows: 1) Regulations on conflict of interest Manohar said the board would frame regulations pertaining to conflict of interest of administrators, players and their staff within a month’s time and that the board would appoint an independent ombudsman, or ethics officer, who would investigate conflict of interest complaints 2) Strengthening anti-corruption efforts “The board would lay down norms and would take forward the measures to prevent corruption in this game, for which the board would make programmes to educate players,” Manohar said. However, it wasn’t clear what these norms will be and whether they will be different from the board’s as existing a code of conduct. What was new was the idea of meeting government officials “to see and work out if we can get certain investigative agency, because the board people do not have any investigative powers and therefore our hands are tied.” 3) Regulating state associations One of the black holes in Indian cricket is what happens to the money that the BCCI sends the state associations, which these days is roughly Rs 25 crore a year. Manohar said the board would appoint an independent auditor to approve the accounts of state associations and only after the accounts are approved would further money be disbursed “The board would also be empowered to take action in case the board finds that the money which has been given to the state association is not being properly utilized,” Manohar said. 4) Making the BCCI’s records public The board’s Constitution and Memorandum of Association are technically public documents but the board has never displayed them in public. Manohar proposed to upload them on the BCCI’s website to counter claims that “the board is not transparent and everything is kept under the wraps." He also proposed listing any expenditure above Rs 25 lakh on the website “so that people are aware on what activities the board spends their money” while also uploading the board’s balance sheet at the end of the year “so that there is transparency in the activities of the board”. “As I told you that nothing wrong is being done in the board, however it is a perception that is being created in the minds of people that because the information does not come out, there is definitely something wrong in this board. Therefore to clear that myth and change the perception we would do this immediately,” Manohar said. On the topic of actual cricket, Manohar said the board intended to revitalize the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, which has drifted over the years. “We would see to it that NCA functions round the year so that cricketing talent is developed in this country,” he said. “Today we are short of the second line. There are no spinners in this country. So it is also our duty to see to it that we have an available lot as a replacement for the current players." Manohar did deflect a couple of questions. Asked about the plight of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, whose owners have been suspended for two years by the Justice Lodha Committee, he said he had just taken over as president just 25 minutes ago and could not be expected to know the ins and outs of every issue. He asked for time to get up to speed and said that he would answer this question in a couple months time. However, he said unequivocally that the 2016 IPL would be held on schedule. He also rebuffed claims that he had exchanged emails with Lalit Modi over the IPL spot-fixing crisis and asked that if he emailed the Queen of England or US President Barack Obama, would that automatically mean they were friends? On the issue of the BCCI performing public functions and the RTI act, Manohar said it would be unfair if the board was singled out as it did not qualify as a “public body” under the relevant definitions in the Act as currently written. “RTI cannot be made applicable to us just because people feel it should be,” he said. However, if the law were to change to bring the BCCI under its ambit, he would have no problem with it either. Asked about the position of former BCCI president N Srinivasan, Manohar said the board would not operate in a vindictive manner and that all 30 associations, including the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which Srinivasan controls, have agreed they need to work together to promote cricket. He also refused to be drawn into a statement on Srinivasan’s tenure as ICC chairman as that is for the general body to decide at the Annual General Meeting. Finally, Manohar said there was an informal chat about the perjury case filed by N Srinivasan against board secretary Anurag Thakur in which board treasurer Anirudh Chaudhury has submitted an affidavit supporting Srinivasan’s version of events. Manohar said the issue had been resolved but refused to provide details, saying that if they wanted the details to be public, they wouldn’t have had an informal chat. After all, you can’t expect the BCCI to change completely in 24 hours.