Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is mired in controversy and the man in focus its chief executive Manu Sawhney who has been asked to take a break, his conduct came under the scanner following an internal investigation by an audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
Sawhney has been under the eye of the storm for a while after more than 90 percent of the apex body employees gave their testimonies against Sawhney, and it has been abrasive behaviour that has not gone down well with his colleagues.
It is understood that Sawhney, who replaced Dave Richardson after the ICC World Cup in 2019 for a tenure till 2022, hasn't also been on the best of terms with some of the influential cricket boards with regards to various policy decisions.
"There have been testimonies from multiple ICC staff about his 'abrasive behaviour' which hasn't been great for the morale of a very efficient group of employees," according to a senior official close to the ICC Board.
The 56-year-old hasn't been attending the office for some time and was asked to go on leave on Tuesday.
"The Board of Directors are trying to find a compromise formula where Sawhney leaves the post with dignity by tendering his resignation," the source said.
He has been under pressure since the election process for the new chairman was set in motion last year, which ended with Greg Barclay taking the position in November.
It is alleged that Sawhney's authoritarian style of functioning is far removed from the inclusive approach taken by Richardson and has not gone down well with the employees.
Also, a few cricket boards seem unhappy with him for backing interim chairman Imran Khawaja during the elections last year.
"He hasn't exactly been a favourite of a lot of cricket boards during the past couple of years. Firstly, a lot of people didn't like his passive involvement when Greg Barclay of New Zealand and Imran Khwaja of Singapore were in contention to replace Shahshank Manohar," a senior BCCI source privy to developments in the ICC told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
