South Africa’s Imtiaz Patel was on Monday appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the International Cricket Council, pipping India’s I S Bindra to the high-profile post.Patel, a South-African of Indian origin, will succeed Malcolm Speed whose term comes to an end in June this year.Bindra, a former BCCI President who was among the two candidates short-listed by the ICC’s sub-committee, has been named as the ICC’s Principal Advisor.ICC President Ray Mali and President-elect David Morgan announced the decision after the Executive Board’s meeting in Dubai, saying Patel was the unanimous choice for the post by the 13-member panel.Morgan said age was never an issue for the post of ICC CEO.“Since we required a CEO with special skills, if Mr Bindra had been the choice, age would not have been a problem.We would have changed the rules, if need be,” he told reporters.The two-day meeting will conclude tomorrow with decisions on other issues such as Champion Trophy venue.
