The ICC annual conference is being held this year in Singapore (Photo by Patrick Bolger-ICC/ICC via … More
Gurumurthy Palani (France), Anuraag Bhatnagar (Hong Kong) and Gurdeep Klair (Canada) won coveted spots on the Chief Executives’ Committee after Thursday’s election kick-started the International Cricket Council’s annual conference in Singapore.
Three coveted Associate Member seats were up for grabs amid changing dynamics among cricket’s powerbrokers. Palani and Bhatnagar finished with 28 votes, while Klair had 21.
The results mean the influential CEC will be new-look after Sumod Damodar, a veteran administrator and former chair of the African Cricket Association, did not retain his position after finishing with 16 votes.
Damodar was the only incumbent to recontest in the eight-candidate field, with Rashpal Bajwa (Canada) and Denmark’s Umair Butt deciding not to.
The election launched the annual conference, with a number of big issues set to be debated in a new era for the governing body led by new chief executive Sanjog Gupta and his Indian counterpart Jay Shah.
Sanjog Gupta is the new ICC chief executive (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
The CEC’s role is to promote and develop cricket worldwide, while governing and regulating the sport at the international level. It is highly coveted for Associate chiefs and seen as a stepping stone to get onto the ICC board – where the real power lies in global cricket.
Former Hong Kong chief Tim Cutler (Vanuatu), ex USA cricket governing body administrator Sankar Renganathan (Sierra Leone), Stella Siale (Samoa) and Sarah Gomersall (Jersey) also ran.
Damodar had three terms on the CEC until 2023 before returning late last year after Mubashshir Usmani, a rising administrator at the helm of the Emirates Cricket Board, was elected to the ICC board.
The outspoken Damodar has been behind ambitious proposals such as reviving the Afro-Asia Cup and pushing more marquee events for Associate nations.
Renganathan loomed as a wildcard and he has been well know as an outspoken critic of embattled USA Cricket, which is facing suspension.
Sankar Renganathan missed out on the CEC.
Voters were made up from 40 Associate Members and five regional representatives (Americas, Asia, Europe, East Asia-Pacific and Africa). Under ICC rules, candidates had to be a representative of an Associate Member or a current/past ICC director.
Newly elected members will have two-year terms and will also be part of the Associate Member Committee helping govern and regulate the Associate level.