Sunil Gavaskar had to make a choice, and he did. After chairing the two-day ICC cricket committee meeting in Dubai, he informed the members that he was quitting the position that he has held for eight years now.

Almost instantly, the ICC’s search for his successor has started with former Pakistan batsman Majid Khan, who was a part of the committee that met in Dubai as a substitute for Ian Bishop, the front-runner. Another name doing the rounds is of former West Indian skipper Vivian Richards as a “suitable candidate” to match the stature of Gavaskar, a source in the world body said on Thursday. A decision on the matter will be taken only after deliberations in the ICC executive board meeting in Dubai in June.

The Gavaskar issue had snowballed earlier this year after then ICC CEO Malcom Speed said the former Indian skipper had to choose between the cricket committee job and his role as a newspaper columnist because of a conflict of interest. His comments were prompted by Gavaskar’s article criticising the role of match-referee Mike Procter after he banned Harbhajan Singh due to allegations of racism in Australia. It was agreed that Gavaskar would chair this year’s Cricket Committee meeting and then convey his views on which of the two commitments he preferred.

In a statement, Gavaskar detailed the reasons behind his move, “I have thoroughly enjoyed the eight years I have held the role, which is an honourary position, and it has been extremely fulfilling to be able to give back to the game through that role. However, with more and more cricket being played, it has become clear that it is not possible for me to do justice to two jobs, the chairmanship of the ICC Cricket Committee and my media commitments.”

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