By IANS
London/New Delhi : England cricket chief David Morgan will head the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years from 2008 and then hand over charge to Indian board president Sharad Pawar, according to an understanding reached between the two in London.
According to the BBC website, the tussle between Pawar and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Morgan has been resolved and it was decided that ECB will take the first turn followed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The ICC president's post is allotted to a country and not to an individual.
An official announcement is expected to be made when a series of ICC annual meetings end here Friday.
News of the compromise that ends the impasse who would preside over international cricket has received a lukewarm response in India
When contacted, BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said from Mumbai: "We must wait for the official announcement from the ICC about the deal. Also, since both the president (Pawar) and secretary (Niranjan Shah) are away in London for the ICC meeting, it is not possible to react to the news."
Former ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya's office said he has been advised by his lawyers not to speak about anything related to cricket because he is embroiled in court cases with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
At least one former BCCI official, who did not want to be named, said it is not a good thing that the Indian board had to compromise with England.
"There was a time when India called the shots. But things have changed now. It remains to be seen if the ECB will honour the agreement even when Morgan is not its head," he told IANS on phone.
According to reports emerging from London, where the annual conclave in being held instead of the ICC headquarters in Dubai, neither England nor India were sure of the two-thirds majority among the 10 Test playing nations.
Hence the need for the compromise and Morgan shot ahead by securing UK visas for top Zimbabwe cricket officials Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute for attending the ICC meeting in London this week.
Both Cricket Zimbabwe president Chingoka and managing director Bvute are considered close to the Robert Mugabe government in Zimbabwe and were on the banned list of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office but were persuaded by the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sports to boost Morgan chances of becoming the next head of ICC.
It now transpires that the efforts have paid off with Pawar – who also happens to be India's agriculture minister – agreeing to wait for his turn till 2010, when he will also be able to preside over the 2011 World Cup as the chairman of the organising committee.
The 2011 World Cup cricket is to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, followed by the 2015 in Australia and New Zealand – another compromise reached among the countries for the quadrennial event.