CRICKET

ICC meet: BCCI wary of World Cup 2019 schedule, CT 2021 format

India's first match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will be on June 5

BCCI to support Bhutan board to develop cricketing infrastructure [File] The BCCI has expressed its keen interest in providing support to the Bhutan Cricket Council Board in every possible way | PTI

The week-long meeting of the International Cricket Council kicked off in Kolkata on Sunday with the meeting on women's cricket, followed by the chief executives meeting. However, it is the all-important ICC board meeting which is set to give current chairman Shashank Manohar another term that will attract the eyeballs on Wednesday and Thursday.

The recent ball-tampering incident by some Australian cricketers in South Africa and player behaviour will also be discussed.

For India, though, there are some issues that need to be resolved. While Manohar's continuation will no doubt bring more heartburn to a certain section of the BCCI—the old guard and the disqualified members—the unhappy members of the Board flagged issues related to the ICC World Cup 2019 schedule and proposed changes in the members playing agreement.

The Indian Premier League 2019 edition was originally set to finish on May 21. The ICC had tentatively scheduled India's first match on June 2 against South Africa. However, with the Supreme Court order, which ratified Justice R.M. Lodha committee's recommendations, including a 15-day gap between the IPL and next tournament, India asked for a change in the schedule. BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who was present at the meeting on Tuesday, brought the matter up with Manohar and it was subsequently decided that the IPL final would be played on May 19 and India's first match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 would be on June 5.

The other big concern for the BCCI members is the ICC wanting to convert the Champions Trophy 2021, which was awarded to India, into an ICC World Twenty20 Championship. CT 2021 was to be played between 10 teams; the WT20 Championships is, reportedly, a 16-team affair, and so, it will be a longer tournament.

The ICC has come under fire for reducing the number of teams participating in the World Cup to 10 teams, with recently approved full members like Ireland crying foul. The World T20 is being seen as a way to assuage hurt feelings of the associate and full members. “That is just for optics,” said a BCCI official. “The real issue is money. The ICC needs more money to distribute to Ireland, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The BCCI direct income will be affected as it will have to forgo or reschedule international matches to be played at home during this period.”

However, BCCI officials at the meeting contend that the change in calendar is only of 3-4 days and not more.

It must be noted that the change from CT to World Twenty20 was proposed in ICC Board meeting on February 9, 2018, and was subsequently approved by the BCCI, as per senior Board officials. The matter is set to be ratified in Wednesday session.

However, BCCI members said that the tournament cannot be changed as the draft Future Tours Programme (FTP) and the Members Playing Agreement (MPA) have been approved by the general body. For a change in the FTP or MPA, the BCCI representatives will have to go back to the general body.

Meanwhile, the Committee of Administrators has submitted in its last status report to the Supreme Court saying the tenure of the present office bearers and the general body is over. A statement disputed by the old guard of the BCCI, which says the tenure of the general body is up to the time a new general body is formed.

The status of BCCI's general body itself is a major bone of contention between the Committee of Administrators and the old guard.