Thakur accuses Manohar of abandaoning BCCI

The BCCI has forced the ICC to go back on its proposed two-tier Test format and also questioned the 2017 Champions Trophy’s proposed budget. The event is scheduled to be held in England.

Manohar has made it clear that he is under no compulsion to look after the BCCI’s interests and Thakur has now openly questioned his stance. “It doesn’t matter if I am disappointed or not with the ICC chairman’s statements. But I need to convey, as a President, what my Board members feel,” an angry Thakur told media persons launching a full frontal attack against the Board’s former president. 

“When the Board needed Manohar as President (locked in a legal battle in Supreme Court), he left the Board in middle of things. It is like captain of ship leaving a sinking ship before other members,” he added.

Thakur even accused Manohar of looking for safer confines in cricket establishment with support of BCCI. “One needs to understand that when ICC constitution (abolishing Big Three) was changed, Manohar was BCCI president. He should have taken members into confidence. But then he was looking for a position in the establishment,” said Thakur.

“It’s our duty to stand by Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. We need to ask questions as to how costs for Champions Trophy per match escalated by three times compared to matches in India. They have 15 matches and we had 58 matches for World T20. They have three venues while we had 8 venues,” said Thakur.

He made it clear that new ICC regime since Manohar took over has been trying to sideline BCCI. He also mentioned that as long as the Income Tax Exemption of the Board remains withdrawn, it will be difficult to help Olympic sporting disciplines as much as they would have liked to.