International Cricket Council president Ehasan Mani lauded former ICC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya for his "outstanding contributions" to world cricket and helping the game "capture its commercial potential."

He also praised the role of his immediate predecessor Malcolm Gray in "successfully" fighting corruption in cricket.

"I am fortunate to have taken over the ICC mantle following the reign of Gray and before him Dalmiya, both of whom have made an outstanding contribution to world cricket. Both of these men were able to tackle difficult challenges in their time as presidents," Mani told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday.

"Dalmiya had the vision to realise that cricket could not become internationally strong without adequate financial resources. He ensured that cricket captured its commercial potential and the game, the players and the followers of the sport continue to benefit from their legacy.

"Gray successfully tackled the scourge of corruption and forced the game to confront this issue openly and transparently. He then led the fights as the game turned the tide in the battle against this evil.

"We are also seeing new and exciting players and teams emerge with the hope that they will add the next chapters to cricket's never-ending history.

"Perhaps no where is this excitement more evident than here, in India, where the Indian team is looking to set new standards and appears to be on the cusp of a wonderful era for the game in this country," he added.

Mani, who visited India for the first time after taking over as the ICC chief, said his body will lead by promoting the game as a global sport, while protecting its spirit and optimising commercial opportunities.

Elaborating on the distribution of World Cup funds, Mani said, "If we look back at the two World Cups prior to the agreement with Global Cricket Corporation last year, our full members received just three million US dollars from ICC.

"From the agreement that the ICC negotiated on its members' behalf for the March 2003 World Cup at South Africa and the next World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, the full members will receive 20.4 million USD of the 220 million USD in revenue raised by the ICC in the past financial year.

"At least 89.7 per cent (194 million USD) was returned to our members to help the sport in their countries."

He added: "We also invested about six million USD in the global development programme and another 5.8 million USD was invested in staging the international sporting events that generate this revenue."

Speaking on cricketing ties between India and Pakistan, Mani expressed optimism that the two countries will soon resume playing bilateral series.

"I am pleased to note that the Government of India has agreed to resume cricketing ties at the junior level  between the two countries and it is my hope that this [under-19 team's tour of Pakistan later this year] will lead to the tour of Pakistan by India next year," he said.

On the players' association, Mani said in India the BCCI must make its own decision on how it wishes to work with its players, and the ICC respects this right.