BCCI to take a call on Champions Trophy on May 7

The recent tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has seen the former at the verge of boycotting the ICC Champions Trophy this year. At a recent ICC meeting, the BCCI found support only from the Sri Lankan board in their pursuit of maintaining with the ‘big three’ revenue model. As a result of that, the ICC opted for a change in the revenue model that would see an equal distribution of revenues.

Since the newly proposed system did not go down well with the Indian board, the board threatened to pull out of the ICC mega event starting on June 1. There have been a few who have spoken in favor of it and the others have been opposing the move. All in all, a dark cloud hovers over India’s participation in the tournament. Now, as per the recent reports in thedailystar.net, the head of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) Vinod Rai confirmed that the final call will be taken on May 7. A BCCI SGM is scheduled to take place on the date where the men who matter will take a final call about the same.

One of the functionaries of the board noted that it is not easy to pull out of a global event. The board will have to pay heavy compensation if they opt to do so. Also, there is always a threat of being isolated by the other boards.

“We will hold the SGM but the view of the members is that we should announce the team first. Anyway, there is bound to be opposition to the move to pull out. It will be a divided house. In fact, most want to avoid confrontation. We can’t afford to pull out, for the simple reason we will be penalised. The penalty will be to the tune of 2,000 crore,” the functionary quoted.

He further added that the repercussions of the same could prove to be very severe. It could go on to the extent of the foreign boards putting a ban on the participation of their players in the Indian Premier League.

“And what if the board is suspended for this? Foreign boards can also threaten to pull players out of the IPL. And what if they don’t keep a window for IPL? It will totally be BCCI’s loss,” he added.

Vinod Rai, the top BCCI official insisted on letting things unfold slowly. He is hopeful to come up with a conclusion sometime soon. “It is a part of the game. Let it unfold slowly, let’s see how it progresses, what happens,” Vinod Rai quoted.