Shashank Manohar on
Wednesday stepped down as the International Cricket Council’s chairman as his
tenure came to an end after four years. Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja will take
over the post, for an interim period, till the election process starts and a successor
is elected.

“ICC Chairman
Shashank Manohar has stepped down after two, two-year tenures at its helm. The
ICC Board met today and agreed that Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja will assume
the responsibilities of the Chairperson until a successor is elected,” ICC
stated in a release.

Manohar, who stepped
down after completing two tenures, could have stayed for another two-year term,
as ICC rules allows maximum of three terms.

The election process of
the next chairperson is expected to be approved by the ICC within the next
week. The main contenders for the seat include former England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves and India’s Sourav Ganguly, who is thae
current chairman of Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).

Ganguly’s candidature
depends on whether Supreme Court will allow him continue as BCCI President, as
his six-years tenure will end on July 31.

Manohar, 62, has
previously held BCCI President’s post, twice, from 2008 to 2011 and from
October 2015 to May 2016, a part of which coincided with the ICC chairmanship. He held the ICC chairman post from November 2015, and then went on claim the seat in 2018, unopposed, completing two tenures.