The appointment was made last week by ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar during the Annual ICC Conference. According to a PCB press release, the F&CA is one of the ICC’s most important committees, as it “assists the organisation in discharging its responsibilities in relation to all financial and commercial matters relating to and concerning it.” For Mani, who is a chartered accountant by profession, it is a return to the prestigious role after nearly 17 years. He was the ICC’s first-ever F&CA Chairman in 1996 and served until 2002, and was instrumental in commercialising international cricket in 2000 by leading the ICC to sign its first-ever commercial deal worth approximately $550m.
Mani will chair the committee that will also include Indra Nooyi, Amitabh Choudhary, Chris Nenzani, Imran Khawaja, Earl Eddings and Colin Graves. Manohar and Manu Sawhney will be the ex-officio members. While Mani will chair the ICC F&CA for the second time, Dr Nasim Ashraf is the only other PCB Chairman to have headed an ICC committee. He led the HR and Remuneration Committee in 2008. Upon his appointment, Mani said: “I am grateful to the ICC chairman for the confidence he has reposed in me and look forward to working with Manu Sawhney and his team.”