Usmani Khawaja, Vallipuram elected as Associate Member Directors

The general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, Mubashir Usmani, has returned with a bang by acing the Associate Member Board elections. He gathered 23 votes in the election for three Associate positions. 

Imran Khawaja (Singapore) with 20 votes and Mahinda Vallipuram with 13 votes are the other two winners. 11 candidates for an electoral college of 45 Associate Members are in fray. The elected members will have a term of two years in the International Cricket Board. 

A noteworthy loser in the election was Pankaj Khimji, the well respected head of Oman Cricket. He was among the three incumbents, next to Neil Speigt of Bermuda and Khawaja. He grabbed the headlines recently for seeking an inquiry into the expenses in the conduct of the World T20 League games in New York. 

Usmani’s huge win was staggering since he had suffered a loss in the same elections two years ago. Although, the UAE cricket head, who hails from Mumbai, was also a strong candidate, especially since he manages a franchise league, International T20 League, where teams are needed to incorporate Associate players in their XI. 

The Associate Member Director election was part of the five day annual conference of the International Cricket Board. 

The other contenders for the sought after position included Sam Arthur (Costa Rica), Dr. Rudie Van Vuuren (Namibia), Sankar Renganathan (Sierra Leone), Gurumurthy Palani (France), Stephen Musaele (Rwanda), and Mahmood Gaznavi (Singapore), alongside sitting members Neil Speight (Bermuda), and Pankaj Khimji (Oman).