NEW DELHI: New Inter­national Cricket Council chairman Shashank Manohar has hit out at the imbalance of the sport’s governing body which he said allowed Australia, England and India to bully the organisation.

Manohar, who replaced India’s scandal-tainted former supremo Narayanaswami Srinivasan earlier this month, said he disagreed with changes to the ICC which handed more power to the big three nations of the game.

“I don’t agree with the three major countries bullying the ICC,” Manohar told The Hindu newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.

“That’s my personal view, because as I have always said, an institution is bigger than individuals.”

A controversial and wide-ranging shake up of the ICC last year gave India — which contributes 80 per cent of global revenues –– and fellow powerhouses England and Australia permanent seats on a new five-member executive committee.

“The ICC constitution, as it stands today, says that in all the major committees of the ICC, these three countries will be automatically there,” the lawyer turned cricket administrator said.

“So all the financial and commercial aspects and the executive committee will be controlled by the representatives of these three countries, which according to me is wrong.

“You should have the best man, whether he comes from Zimbabwe, or West Indies ... who will promote the interests of the ICC.”

India’s cricket board toppled Srinivasan, once the most powerful man in world cricket, from the helm of the ICC this month.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) replaced Srinivasan with Manohar, pledging a new era of clean governance.

Srinivasan was appointed ICC chief in June last year after being chosen by the BCCI as India’s representative to the top role, which rotates every two years among cricketing nations.

But his reputation was badly dented by a number of corruption scandals that have hit the glitzy Indian Premier League.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2015