BCCI cannot pull out of the Champions Trophy without the approval of COA, says Vinod Rai

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) head Vinod Rai announced that the decision to opt out of the Champions Trophy does not lie solely with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI office bearers have to go through COA and its approval before any decision is taken regarding its interest of opting out of the tournament.

Rai who is the head of the CoA managing the administration of the board for the last few months has advised to the BCCI that they cannot take any decision in haste and cannot pursue any legal action against the International Cricket Council (ICC) without the approval of COA.

“Yes, we have issued an instruction that any decision regarding the ICC Revenue Model should only be taken at the Special General Meeting (SGM). But the BCCI units have been told that they cannot issue any legal notice to the ICC with regards to Champions Trophy pull-out without our prior approval,” said Rai according to reports from Deccan Chronicle.

Vinod further professed that pulling out of a major tournament such as Champions Trophy would mean that India cannot further take part in any of the ICC events until 2023, i.e., eight years from now.

“It was brought to our knowledge that some of the officials were engaged in a teleconference and wanted to take a decision on the said matter. One needs to understand that this kind of a decision cannot be taken in haste. A Champions Trophy pullout will lead to India not playing in ICC tournaments for the next eight years. It cannot be decided by a few members,” advised Rai.

BCCI’s decision to pull out of the upcoming competition is further weakened by the fact that some officials are in favour of the decision while others oppose the motion. Rai explained that a decision can only rigidly be taken after the 30 members unanimously support the motion.

“There can’t be a fractured mandate where some are in favour of a pull-out and quite a few against the motion. If you ask me, the extreme step should only be taken if all the 30 members decide unanimously that a pull-out is necessary,” said the 69-year old.

If all the 30 members decide to support BCCI’s decision to withdraw from the Champions Trophy, the Indian cricket fans may not see their team perform in two 50-over World Cups and two World T20 Cups.