
Former ICC president Ehsan Mani today lashed out at cricket8217;s world governing body for the 8220;disgraceful8221; handling of Malcolm Speed8217;s premature exit as CEO, saying the 8220;disappointing8221; episode will erode its credibility.
8220;I8217;m very disappointed with the way Malcolm has been treated. He has served the ICC with loyalty and a huge amount of distinction and I would have expected that if there were differences they could have been handled privately,8221; Mani told The Daily Telegraph.
8220;The way the board has handled this has been disgraceful. If they do not pull their act together they will lose credibility,8221; he added.
Mani said instead of tackling the differences that have cropped up in the executive board head on, the ICC chose the easy way out by asking Speed to go on a paid leave, two months before the end of his tenure. 8220;Having known Malcolm personally I know how he has taken the ICC to a much higher level compared to when he joined,8221; said Mani.
8220;It8217;s a great shame he has left in this way 8212; things seem to have got out of control. There will always be differences but they should be handled better,8221; he added.
Mani, who served as ICC president from 2003 to 2006, said the ICC should be transparent in its handling of the game and make public the controversial audit report on financial irregularities in the Zimbabwe Cricket Union ZCU that apparently caused the 8220;breakdown8221; between Speed and ICC president Ray Mali.
8220;The ICC must always be transparent. Ideally the8230; report should have been made public. Nothing ever stays private,8221; he said.