Will Indian captain Virat Kohli walk out for the toss with Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on June 4? The match, in Birmingham, is a marquee event in the ICC Champions Trophy, and the tickets have already been sold out. Star Sports, the official broadcaster, has already started promoting the event. However, if a section of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, especially the one backed by former president N. Srinivasan, gets its way, the match might not happen.
Their grouse is that, in a meeting held in Dubai on April 26, the ICC board approved financial restructuring, slashing the BCCI’s projected revenue earnings from a gross of $571.5 million to $293 million.
The faction has threatened to pull out of the tournament and attempted to take legal action against the International Cricket Council. This would lead to a loss of revenue for the ICC, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Star Sports. It could even lead to the tournament being cancelled. For now, the ICC is tightlipped, waiting for the BCCI’s move.
ICC chairman Shashank Manohar—“Brutus” to BCCI officials—offered $100 million more, but didn’t agree to a deferment as requested by the BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary. Choudhary, whose conduct was appreciated by ICC members, never put forward the possibility of a pullout in the ICC meeting.
Interestingly, the BCCI seems to be misleading some of its members with its numbers. $570 million is the gross revenue projected under the big three model; the net revenue post cuts is projected at about $445 million. This is close to the range—$400 million to $420 million—worked out by Vinod Rai and Vikram Limaye, members of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, and broadly agreed to by ICC members. Also, within the new financial structure, the difference between gross and net revenue is expected to be smaller, leading to fewer losses. Apart from this, the BCCI earns a lot from its own sponsorship and telecast rights for team India and the Indian Premier League. In fact, the rights for the next IPL are tipped to go for as high as Rs 18,000 crore.
Meanwhile, the call to pull out of the tournament has divided the board. One of India’s senior-most cricket administrators—who has been affected by the Lodha Committee recommendations related to age and tenure cap—backed a pullout. “Why not? The ICC decided in one minute to cut our revenue share and also make constitutional amendments that would affect India’s power in ICC,” he said. But, there are others who feel pulling out is not the right call. “I am of the firm view that there should be nothing done at the cost of cricket,” said a state association president. Another veteran administrator said that if Manohar and the ICC call India’s bluff, there would be serious ramifications. Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly, and his east zone colleagues, are expected to play a key role in the issue.
Shashank Manohar | AFP
BCCI did not announce the squad for the tournament, ignoring the April 25 cutoff date. It was seen as a pressure tactic ahead of the ICC board meeting, but Manohar didn’t blink. It was expected that the squad would be announced after the meeting, but officials were busy discussing their next move. In fact, this has become the agenda of the BCCI’s next special general body meeting on May 7.
If BCCI pulls out of Champions Trophy, it would be violating the Members’ Participating Agreement it signed for participating in ICC events. This would mean India could miss out on all ICC events in the 2014-2023 cycle, including world cups.
The CoA, however, has called for restraint, and has blocked a move by the Srinivasan camp to send a legal notice to the ICC, citing “breach of contract”. It all started when Choudhary called up Rai, telling him that BCCI officials wanted to discuss, over conference call, the possibility of sending a notice to the ICC. It was reportedly a rushed affair; barely a dozen members joined in. Many key players, like IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla, were not part of the call. It was largely the Srinivasan group and a few others. Apparently, ousted BCCI president Anurag Thakur had backed the move. The members who attended the meeting decided that the BCCI would send the legal notice. Rai, however, said that any legal matter had to have the CoA’s approval, and that he would only agree to the decision if all BCCI members unanimously agreed.
“The Srinivasan group wants a crisis,” said a veteran administrator. “It works in their favour as it would discredit the CoA. It is no longer about $290 million or $390 million; it is about who is controlling the BCCI.”
Prior to the special general body meeting on May 7, the CoA sent a 15-point letter to all BCCI state associations, advising restraint. Read the letter: “It is extremely unlikely that the ICC and other cricket boards will agree to the amount/share envisaged under the financial model that was
put in place in 2014 [$571.5 million].” The CoA advised the BCCI to consider the amount in the range—“$400million to $420 million”—that Rai, Manohar and other ICC members thought reasonable. It also warned that any drastic decision by the BCCI could lead to Manohar further hardening his stand. Moreover, even if the BCCI decides to pull out of the tournament in the special general body meeting, the CoA would seek the Supreme Court’s directions on the matter.
The ICC has not responded to the threats. According to sources, backchannel talks are on between CoA/BCCI and ICC members, and India is likely to get more than the extra $100 million that was offered by Manohar. Besides, the legal notice to the ICC might not hold as the proposed financial changes, approved in the April 26 meeting, are yet to be ratified in the ICC’s annual general body meeting. The changes are not applicable at least till June. “Then, why this bluff by India?” asked an ICC member.
