Shashank Manohar receives ‘love’ and ‘hate’ as he quits BCCI

Justice Mudgal, who was appointed by the Delhi High Court to oversee the conduct of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), also headed the committee that carried out investigations in the IPL 2013 betting and spot-fixing scandal. Speaking to the Times of India, Justice Mudgal showered praise on the outgoing BCCI chief by saying he is “a straightforward and honest person.”

"Manohar has always been a straightforward and honest person. I don't know the exact reasons for his decision to step down but he would have weighed up the pros and cons," said Justice Mudgal.

"I think it is a personal decision made by Manohar. Although I have not thoroughly studied the Lodha recommendation, I don't think Manohar was in conflict with any of the suggestions made by the panel. I am not privy to his decision but he might be looking at a more permanent post of ICC chairman.

"I can't think of a better person to represent India at the ICC. It is a great honour and he's the ideal man for the job," said the former Judge of Delhi High Court.

When asked about Manohar’s displeasure about some of the Lodha committee recommendations, Justice Mudgal backed Manohar by saying his criticisms about the recommendations showed his character.

"I think it shows his character. He might disagree with the recommendations but he is prepared to abide by the court's suggestions," Justice Mudgal told Times of India.

However Aditya Verma, a petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing case, labelled Manohar as a "power hungry backstabber", and criticised him for failing to keep his promise of cleaning up the game.

"Shashank Manohar's latest move to go to ICC shows that he is a power-hungry official. When he was not in power, he spoke about cleansing the game and now he is leaving BCCI without completing his job. Also, he is a man who believes in back-stabbing as he and his group used me in their battle against N Srinivasan and then backstabbed without fulfilling promises," an angry Verma told PTI on Tuesday.

He went on to say that Srinivasan never back-stabbed his allies and maintained enmity with honesty.

"Srinivasan dusmanibhishaansekartaathaaaurapnedoston ko kabhidhokhanaahindiya. (Srinivasan maintained his enmity with honesty and never ditched his friends). For Manohar, promises meant nothing. I understood that when with help of Ratnakar Shetty I was thrown out of the BCCI office, it was Manohar behind the move. I had made numerous complaints about Shetty and that fell on deaf ears," said Verma.