Champions Trophy door still ajar for BCCI as ICC to hold a board meeting in May

Team India’s participation in the Champions Trophy 2017 to be held in England starting June 1 is not clear but there is still hope. The International Cricket Council (ICC) will hold an executive meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to discuss the issue this month.

All has not been well between the BCCI and the ICC ever since the Big Three Model was scrapped. The BCCI was adamant in not losing out any money even when the model was scrapped as they claimed that the ICC earns a lot of money through Indian cricket.

Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman, revised the offer and proposed $400 million to the Indian board which was again rejected by the latter. It is learnt that the richest cricket board in the world used to earn $570 million till the Big Three Model was scrapped and now they don’t want to settle for anything less than that.

BCCI then missed the deadline for the announcement of a squad for the Champions Trophy which further caused clamour. The ICC’s executive board meeting in May will again revolve about the Champions Trophy debate and the ICC will resend a revised offer to the BCCI. The figures are still unknown but logically it should be close to what BCCI used to earn earlier.

The BCCI is scheduled to hold a Special General Meeting in New Delhi on May 7 and a final decision is expected to come out of this meeting on India’s participation in the Champions Trophy.

A few members of the ICC have blamed their Chairman for taking a decision in haste. “There is no immediate money to be distributed. Why did their request for a postponement was not accepted,” members say directing their ire against Manohar.

The good news that comes out of this is that the Champions Trophy door is still kept ajar. If ICC and the BCCI mutually agree upon a figure soon, we can well see the defending champions fly to England for their title defence.