Dubai: The five-day International Cricket Council (ICC) annual conference, set to begin at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) premises from Tuesday, will usher in radical changes in the functioning of the governing body. N. Srinivasan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) president in-exile, is set to take over as its first-ever chairman.
According to the agenda, the full council is expected to approve amendments to the ICC’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, as discussed and agreed by the ICC Board in Singapore on February 8, including the appointment of the new ICC Chairman.
The Singapore meeting agreed that the post of the ICC chairman should be created in the ICC constitution and though the amendment was made, the decision will have to be agreed by the full council. Srinivasan is expected to be unanimously appointed as the supremo as none of the 51 member countries have “officially” expressed any displeasure over his candidature.
Though the India’s Supreme Court has restrained Srinivasan for performing the BCCI president’s duties following the Indian Premier League (IPL) match-fixing scandal, they refused to restrain him from taking over as the chairman of the ICC.
The Chennai-based industrial baron’s accession to the most powerful post in world cricket is just a formality.
On Sunday, Srinivasan was also unanimously re-elected president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) in his state’s 84th annual general meeting. This was the 14th time that Srinivasan is being elected successively to the top most post of TNCA.
Srinivasan’s chairmanship will kick-start the rule of Big Three with India, England and Australia gaining huge powers. It is understood that the three superpowers have already started taking major decisions as regards cricket development around the world.
The ICC Associate membership application from Oman, the UAE’s neighbours, is also part of the annual conference agenda.
