Dubai: Plans are on to stop India from pulling out of the Champions Trophy after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had shown their displeasure following the humiliation in the ICC meeting held here recently.
Though the BCCI’s Special General Meeting is yet to be convened to discuss the issue, there has been some serious discussions happening among the senior BCCI officials.
Meanwhile, the countries that voted against India in the ICC meeting are also considering to keep the pressure on BCCI to ensure India doesn’t pull out of the Champions Trophy.
And if the BCCI sticks to its plans, then most nations may consider calling back their players who are currently participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Though the objective of the BCCI, on missing the ICC deadline to announce their team, is to arm twist the ICC to accept their demands and also show their power as the richest cricket board, a united move by all the other nations can hit India very badly.
The ICC is also keen to have India in the Champions Trophy and it is understood that the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has informed Amitabh Choudhury, the BCCI acting secretary, that a settlement offer of an additional $100 million is still available.
Based on current forecasted revenues and costs, BCCI will receive only $293m (Dh1.07 billion) across the eight year cycle. As per the earlier revenue model, India was supposed to get $570 million.
According to information from India, BCCI may agree to an offer of $450 million but nothing less than that. However, the threat to call back the foreign players in the IPL can force BCCI to yield.
Right now, the BCCI is out to prove that ICC has not taken into consideration India’s huge contribution to global cricket income. There is also a difference of opinion among the BCCI officials with regard to pulling out of the Champions Trophy.
BCCI’s senior official Rajeev Shukla has remarked that it would not be right for India to pull out from tournament in England as an act of defiance over the ICC’s revised financial model as it could lead to India being isolated from world cricket. If India goes ahead with the plan, West Indies will likely be the replacement. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan, before leaving Dubai after the ICC meeting, even stated that all member nations are ready to play in the Champions Trophy without India and that the West Indies or any other team could be included in the fray by the ICC.
With the majority of nations now united against India, there are chances that bilateral tournaments involving India can also be affected.
India is now hoping that sponsors and television broadcasters will back them in their plans to pull out.
They are even hoping that broadcasters should withdraw at the last moment from telecasting the Champions Trophy stating that without India it can hit the television revenue.
However, the broadcasters cannot afford to take such drastic steps against the ICC as any such act could even result in them being debarred from bidding for future events, if all nations are united.
It is likely that the Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court of India to supervise the BCCI may now request a meeting with Manohar to amicably settle the issue.
