BCCI gives up opposition, India to play in Champions Trophy 2017 | Cricket - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

BCCI gives up opposition, India to play in Champions Trophy 2017

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
May 07, 2017 09:00 PM IST

BCCI had threatened not field the Indian cricket team at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, citing a drop in their share of revenue and administrative clout due to the decision making changes in the ICC constitution.

Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) turned out to be a formality on Sunday, as reported a day earlier by HT, with the members unanimously deciding to send the squad to the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and avoid a confrontation with the global governing body.

Indian cricket team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be picked by the national selectors on Monday.(Getty Images)
Indian cricket team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be picked by the national selectors on Monday.(Getty Images)

Read more | IPL 2017: Kings XI Punjab vs Gujarat Lions live updates, score

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The SGM gave complete powers to BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary to negotiate a better revenue and governance deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

India had threatened to pull out of the event citing a drop in their share of revenue and administrative clout due to the decision making changes in the ICC constitution.

The Board also decided to not push for any legal action against the ICC for revising the controversial 2014 Big Three revenue model that had assured India a huge chunk of the global body’s revenue. The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had cautioned the BCCI officials against any confrontation with the ICC and the Champions Trophy boycott.

“The outcome of the meeting has been positive. India will participate in the Champions Trophy. There is no pulling out. The squad will be announced on Monday,” senior official Rajeev Shukla said after the meeting.

Not for confrontation

“Amitabh Choudhary has been authorised to renegotiate with ICC over the financial model.

“Our approach is to try and resolve through dialogue rather than being confrontational. There are five-six issues regarding the revenue and governance model, which needs to be sorted out,” Shukla said.

It is learnt the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) representative Niranjan Shah proposed a resolution to give the Jharkhand cricket supremo full powers to negotiate. Saurashtra was one of the members that was for a boycott and for exercising the Members Participation Agreement.

“The negotiation process will be an ongoing one before the ICC Annual Conference in June (where the new constitution will be ratified),” Choudhary said while refusing to divulge the amount India will push for during the negotiations.

India was offered $100 million over the $293 million allotted in the 2015-2023 cycle at last month’s ICC Board meeting.

Legal options open

Choudhary had refused to accept and apprised the SGM and CoA of the offer.

He said legal options against ICC are still open. However, other members HT spoke to said they don’t want any confrontation.

“Playing in the Champions Trophy does not mean we agree with the ICC revenue and governance model. Not only revenue share but governance structure is also an issue,” Choudhary said.

CoA head Vinod Rai, however, hinted it would be difficult to bargain on the governance structure. The CoA has been stressing on the need to push for a bigger say on the governance structure and not harp on revenue.

They had kept the players in the loop to ensure preparations for the Champions Trophy were not affected. “I spoke to Virat Kohli and told him the India team is playing Champions Trophy,” said Rai. “The players always knew they were going to the tournament.”

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away!- Login Now!
Catch all the Latest Cricket News, Live Cricket Score and IPL 2024 Schedule, match updates along with Cricket Schedule, Purple Cap in IPL 2024, Orange Cap in IPL 2024 and other related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On