MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked Chief Executive Manu Sawhney to go on “leave” after an investigation, outsourced to an international agency of global reputation, has preliminarily concluded that his conduct over the last 12 months has been unsavoury and against the federation’s way of leading its operations.
“Allegations ranging from very serious to as petty as arrogance and high-handedness, to as internally serious as hiring and sacking employees at whim are being held against this individual. Cricket administration has been in absolute disarray and ICC had to act,” sources in direct know of developments said.
The ICC, TOI understands, commissioned UK-based accounting firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC) earlier this year to investigate Sawhney’s “manner of conduct” within the organisation and its multiple stakeholders ever since coming on board a couple of years ago. The final report of the investigation is expected to be brought out anytime soon.
Well-placed sources confirmed to TOI this week that the results of the investigation – a forensic, interviewing, auditing and clinical assessment of employee-conduct – has been looking into several misdemeanours on the part of Sawhney, who’s been under the scanner for some time now. PWC UK is learnt to have interviewed ICC employees at all levels over the last one month to gather information on the individual and sources say the response has been “detrimental”.
From unilateral allotment of ICC events – or at least the promise of it – to dictating the upcoming media-rights cycle of the governing body to “employee harassment” and the proverbial “antagonising of the Big Three”, sources say “things were always under the scanner”.
“PWC UK was brought on board around January. The reports are due anytime soon. It’s been a horrible time for the ICC. It’s very unfortunate if what is being spoken of in whispers turns out to be true,” well-placed sources said.
TOI has written to the ICC on email about these developments and is waiting for an official response. TOI is in possession of further details on this investigation but is waiting for the ICC to come on record.