Patel in line for ICC role

South African Imtiaz Patel is set to be appointed as the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council.

The 43-year-old has been named as the ICC’s preferred choice to take over from Australian Malcolm Speed, who is due to step down in June.

Patel, who is thought to have beaten off competition from rival candidates including former India cricket chief Inderjit Singh Bindra, will be invited to take up an initial three-year posting.

Patel is currently the chief executive of South African broadcaster SuperSport International and has also held directorships with the country’s cricket board.

The decision to offer him the post was made at the ICC’s executive board meeting in Dubai.

ICC president-elect David Morgan, the former ECB chairman who also takes up his post with the world governing body in June, said: “I am pleased that the ICC board has approved this appointment.

“We are now negotiating the details of Mr Patel’s engagement as our chief executive.

“In anticipation of an early completion to that negotiation, I do look forward to working closely with him during my presidency.

President-elect David Morgan

“These are exciting and busy times for world cricket and I know that Mr Patel will bring his wide range of skills and broad knowledge of the game to the table in a way that will benefit cricket as a whole.”

Patel, who is of Indian origin, hails from the town of Schweizer Reneke in the North-West Province of South Africa. His past work also includes four years as a teacher in Soweto, where he was involved in cricket development.

With Sharad Pawar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, due to succeed Morgan in 2010, the country would have held the two most powerful positions at the ICC had Bindra succeeded.

Patel was recommended to the ICC board by a four-man sub-committee appointed to identify potential successors to Speed.

Morgan added: “It was encouraging to see that the board endorsed the sub-committee’s recommendation.

“Mr Patel is an outstanding candidate. Through his work at SuperSport he has been leading a television channel that has been at the forefront of cricket broadcasting for some considerable time.

“This has been a rigorous selection process and I am satisfied that we have exhausted every avenue to find the best person for the job.

“We are now in the process of negotiating the details with Mr Patel before he can be officially appointed.”