Imran Khwaja or Greg Barclay - who will the next ICC chairman be?
The lowdown on the two main contenders and the voting process
Imran Khwaja wants an extra ICC event in the calendar, while Greg Barclay prefers bilateral cricket. • Getty Images
In the past, the ICC president - as the post was called earlier - used to be a symbolic role, with little power. Now, however, the chairman has far more authority and the post is an independent one. The chairman is no longer allowed to be a member of an individual board while being chairman, and the primary responsibility is to grow the sport and take cricket forward.
The position was vacated in June by Shashank Manohar, who decided not to seek a third and final term, after being elected as the ICC's inaugural independent chairman in 2016. Manohar was elected unanimously for a second term in 2018 by the ICC Board without an election. This time, though, the ICC Board failed to find a consensus candidate, necessitating the election.
It's difficult to say. Lawyers by profession, both Khwaja and Barclay are vastly experienced administrators and are both known for their balanced opinions. And both are popular on the ICC Board, which is where, ultimately, the votes will be cast.
A former president of the Singapore Cricket Association, Khwaja has sat on the ICC Board since 2008, first as a representative and then as the chair of the Associate Members. In 2017 he was elected as the deputy chairman unanimously by the ICC Board. In June this year the ICC Board once again picked Khwaja to be the interim chairman after Shashank Manohar stepped down. Manohar was the ICC's first independent chairman, elected in 2016.
Barclay joined the ICC Board in 2014, nominated by NZC as a director. In 2016 he was elected NZC chairman. Quietly spoken like Khwaja, Barclay is well respected among his fellow Board members. In 2019 when Manohar created a working group for reviewing the ICC's governance, Barclay was one of its members (the CA chairman Earl Eddings sat as the head).
Barclay has the backing of the Big Three comprising the BCCI, CA and the ECB along with his home board. Khwaja is expected to have the support some of the smaller boards, most notably the PCB, but it is understood the Associates might not support him.
As a first step, the ICC's audit committee vets the nominations and declares the eligible contestants. The ICC's directors are each allowed to nominate one candidate and nominees with the support of two or more directors are eligible to contest an election.
Only the current directors who sit on the ICC Board are allowed to vote. That is 17 directors: 12 Full Members, three directors representing the Associates, and the ICC chairman, the ICC chief executive officer (Manu Sawhney) and the independent woman director in Indra Nooyi. The CEO does not have a vote.
According to the ICC constitution the voting will need to take place via secret ballot. The winner will need a minimum two-thirds majority, or 11 of the 16 votes (10 if there are 15). A simple majority will not be enough.
In the scenario where there is no consensus and no clear winner after the voting (two-thirds majority), it is understood the ICC Board has agreed that the interim chair - Khwaja - will take charge as chairman for a period determined by the board.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo