ICC chairman: Greg Barclay defeats Imran Khwaja to become ICC chairman, members raise serious questions | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC), which is based out of the UAE, officially announced at 2:30 am India time – 1 am UAE time, where the governing body is based out of – that New Zealand’s Greg Barclay has been elected as the chairman and will replace Nagpur-based lawyer Shashank Manohar with immediate effect.
The results were officially announced close to 24 hours after the voting process ended. TOI asked the ICC if Imran Khwaja, the candidate who lost to Barclay, will continue to remain part of the ICC board; and the latter responded saying: “We will know by Wednesday”.
The ICC had refused to communicate on the election process ever since it first announced on October 12 that the deadline for nominations would end on October 18 and the election process would conclude by December 2, if there were three rounds of ballot held.
“The silence was deafening. This is the most secretive election held in cricket’s history. Wonder what was going on. Details will be sought. Questions will be asked,” members said.
The ICC has also refused to confirm which country has Khwaja represented at the ICC since 2018.

“It is only natural that if you’re part of the ICC board – and not the independent member – you should be representing a home board,” say those tracking developments.
Those in the know say that Barclay defeated Khwaja 11-5 in the 16 votes that were in the fray – 12 full members, two associate members, one female independent member and one vote belonging to Khwaja who does not represent any country at the ICC. There are also those who say the voting count was 12-4, adding “Two Boards changed their minds at the last minute after the first round of voting showed that the majority is not in favour of Khwaja”.
While Barclay has won and will be taking the chair for a two-year term, the ICC has still not clarified which country Khwaja represented at the ICC since 2018.
“He (Khwaja) has lost the election but the relevant question shouldn’t be forgotten: Which country was Khwaja representing at the ICC? The governing body has to provide all details of Khwaja and it’s something that all ICC full members will pursue in seriousness,” a board member told TOI soon after the results were announced.

TOI understands that the ICC’s Human Resources and Audit Committee is already raising some serious questions over matters of governance even as administration changes hands at the governing body.
“In 2018, Khwaja got elected as Associate Member Representative but the ICC has failed to answer which home board he represented, despite repeated questions. The full members intend to call for a thorough investigation into what ensued,” the board member added.
The ICC full members also want to call for an enquiry to ascertain if any ICC employee participated in canvassing for any candidate in particular during the election process.
“It has been brought to our notice that some senior employees were jockeying for particular candidates during the election process. A fair investigation will be called to investigate that,” said those in the know.

The first round of the elections had ended 10-6, with Khwaja – the interim chairman – managing to retain one-third of the votes required to continue in the chair.
“The most controversial bit is none of the members, including Indra Nooyi – the female independent member at ICC – questioned the election process publicly even as certain members took objections in private,” sources say.
Board members say despite the “one-sided approach”, members have still voted in favour of progress.
“The cricketing world has been cornered after the pandemic and the game’s finances are in absolute turmoil. There needs to be a proper direction if cricket has to stand on its feet. Let’s hope this is the beginning of that long walk,” a board member said.