ICC CEO Manu Sawhney sent on 'leave'

Sawhney, who replaced Dave Richardson after the ICC's 2019 World Cup term until 2022, also did not co-operate well with other influential cricket boards regarding various policy decisions.

 International Cricket Council chief executive Manu Sawhney was sent on "leave" after his conduct was subjected to a series of scandals during an internal audit of auditing firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Sawhney, who replaced Dave Richardson after the ICC's 2019 World Cup term until 2022, was also unable to work with other influential cricket boards regarding various policy decisions. He is being watched closely for his "misconduct" and that of his colleagues. The 56-year-old had been out of the office for some time and was asked to take a leave on Tuesday.

"There has been evidence from many ICC staff members about his 'behaviour' which has not been good for the conduct of a very effective team," a senior official said. "The Board of Directors is trying to find a way to resolve Sawhney's resignation by submitting a letter of resignation," the source further added.

He has been under pressure since the process of electing a new chairman last year, which ended with Greg Barclay taking office in November. It is alleged that Sawhney's "use of authority" is far from the all-inclusive approach taken by Richardson and has never been fair to employees. Also, a few cricket boards look unhappy with him for supporting interim chairman Imran Khawaja during last year's election. "He has not been a favourite of many cricket boards in the last few years. First, many people did not like his involvement when Greg Barclay of New Zealand and Imran Khawaja of Singapore voted for Shashank Manohar," a senior BCCI source told the ICC.

A second reason why some major boards are upset with his support for the ICC's recent decision to ask boards to pay for hosting events in the next round. Understandably, the BCCI, England, and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia are completely opposed to the idea and have made clear their unhappiness at various board meetings.

Another reason is his proposal to support at least one annual ICC event during the next eight-year cycle from 2023-2031, which also did not win the 'Big Three' vote. In the event that Sawhney chooses not to resign, it may result in a process that has long been removed by the Board of Directors with significant powers. "Manu also has support for the board which is now divided into two sections with 9 and 8 members on each side.

Sawhney was the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Sports Hub and served as the Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, a company he worked with for 17 years.