ICC chairman Shashank Manohar is due to leave his position this year ©Getty Images

The process to elect Shashank Manohar's replacement as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been delayed after the Board opened a confidentiality investigation following the leak of a letter to the media.

A decision on the election process was due to be made at the ICC Board meeting on Thursday (May 28), but the governing body shelved all agenda items after a proposal to postpone this year's T20 World Cup was leaked to the Times of India.

In a letter to the ICC, Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings suggested pushing back the T20 World Cup to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ICC said all agenda items at the meeting had been "deferred until June 10 2020 following a discussion, led by chairman Shashank Manohar, around the issue of confidentiality" as a result of the document appearing in the media.

A confidentiality investigation has been launched by the ICC after a letter suggesting the T20 World Cup be postponed was leaked ©Getty Images
A confidentiality investigation has been launched by the ICC after a letter suggesting the T20 World Cup be postponed was leaked ©Getty Images

The ICC is set to revisit the election process at the June 10 meeting.

The election procedure was the main topic at an ICC Board meeting last Wednesday (May 27), and further discussions had been planned for the following day until the Board instead decided to launch an investigation into the media leaks.

Manohar, who became the ICC's first independent chairman in 2016, confirmed he would not seek another term in December.

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves is widely tipped to succeed Manohar at the helm of the ICC.