Reports: UAE's Mubashir Usmani, Oman's Pankaj Khimji frontrunners in Associates election to ICC Board

It has been reported that UAE’s Mubashir Usmani and Oman’s Pankaj Khimji are among the frontrunners in Associates’ election to the International Cricket Council (ICC) board. While a new ICC Chairman will be appointed later this year, the main focus is on the members electing him or her.

The election for the all-important positions is expected to witness a cut-throat competition among half a dozen representatives of the Associate nations of the ICC. Meanwhile, Usmani and Khimji are reportedly a part of the members having filed the nominations for the three positions in the ICC Board that are only reserved for the Associates. The elections will be held at the Annual Conference in the last week of July in Birmingham. It became mandatory to appoint an ICC Chairman after Greg Barclay decided not to extend his term.

The status of ICC Board Associates Election

According to reports in Cricbuzz, “Usmani of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), who got the maximum votes in a similar election last year for the three Chief Executives Committee (CEC) positions, is a favorite.”

The report further adds that “With Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah emerging as global hubs in recent times, the ECB secretary general’s chances are strong just as that of Khimji who, also like Usmani, has links to Mumbai. Oman had hosted a part of the 2021 T20 World Cup and is believed to have shown interest in the Asia Cup also. The Oman Cricket is also a strong contender.”

“The electoral-college consists of 44 members — 39 voting Associates and five zonal representatives from the non-voting associates from the regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas and East Asia Pacific. The elected three will join the 12 full members and one independent director in the ICC Board, the all-powerful decision-making body. Each elected Associate member will have a term of two years.

“Bahrain, Bermuda, Bhutan, Botswana, Canada, China, Denmark, Fiji, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, UAE, Uganda, USA and Vanuatu are the associates who will be joined by representatives from the five zones named above,” it further adds.

Meanwhile, it also remains to be seen whether the current Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah will be holding the top position in the ICC with the next ODI World Cup set to be held in India in 2023. Shah had pipped the reigning BCCI President Sourav Ganguly to become a member of the ICC Cricket Committee back in April. The election for the Chairman will take place in November-December.