JOIN USIf anyone thought that the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India’s threat to pull out of the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in England and Wales from June 1-18, was actually going to materialise, then he would be living in La La Land. After it was dealt a cruel blow at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board meeting last month, when it was comfortably
outvoted by fellow ICC full members in the motion to pass the new administrative structure and financial model, an embattled BCCI threatened to withdraw from the Champions Trophy and delayed the announcement of the team for the tournament. It’s a no-brainer that India’s absence from the event, of which they are the defending champions, would have spelt a disaster for the world body in terms of revenue. The official broadcaster of ICC events, Star Sports, had expressed its concern and was on record that the response from the advertisers has been lukewarm with India’s participation looking uncertain. With the BCCI clearing the decks to send the team during its Special General Meeting on Sunday, there has been a sigh of relief from all the stakeholders. Also, with barely three weeks left for the tournament to begin, any further delay in selecting the squad would not have been in the best interest of the Indian team which needs to be provided the best environment to succeed.
While an extreme move like pulling out of an ICC meet by the BCCI wouldn’t have behoved well for its standing as the most important cricket organisation in the ICC, the rest of the cricketing world would do well to understand that it is not in the best interest of the game either to keep antagonising the Indian Board. The Big Three formula — according to which the BCCI was to get $570 million — may have been a bit skewed in its nature but in an attempt to undo this “imbalance”, ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has acted in an even more arbitrary manner to cut India’s pie. That he offered an extra $100 million to placate an angry BCCI after reducing its share to $293 million, a reduction of $277 million, shows the whimsical manner in which he has arrived at these numbers.
Having been a BCCI insider, Manohar may have succeeded in outsmarting the Board’s officials who appear directionless in the aftermath of the Lodha Committee report which was approved by the apex court. Given the BCCI’s present vulnerable position, Manohar has succeeded in isolating the richest body by promising to keep the coffers of other cricket boards brimming. Round one may have gone to the Manohar-led ICC but expect the BCCI to come back harder. This battle is far from over.