BCCI weighs financial impact of freeze in cricket

It is the world’s richest cricket board, but even BCCI has conceded the Covid-19 pandemic could take a toll on its finances.

Its Apex Council meeting held last week discussed the possible financial hit the cricket body would take due to cancelled matches.

The Indian team’s kit sponsorship contract will end in September, and it was deliberated whether it would be the right time to approach the market with a new tender. “One option is to negotiate with Nike, or issue fresh tenders,” an official said.

Nike’s four-year deal with BCCI is worth R370 crore; approximately R87 lakh per match. While all earlier deals, be it media, title or jersey rights, saw an incremental increase, companies are now holding on to cash in times of distress. That means BCCI will need to get its strategy spot on.

The Indian board has also approached the union finance ministry for income-tax exemptions on revenue from hosting ICC world events. India is due to host the T20 World Cup in 2021 and the 2023 ODI World Cup. ICC has asked it to bear the tax liabilities for the two mega events, after failing to get exemption for the 2016 T20 World Cup hosted by the country.

“Let’s see what the government decides. This is not on their priority list right now,” the official said. The dispute from the 2016 T20 World Cup, amounting to $23.7mn, has been referred to ICC’s dispute resolution committee.

The Apex Council members were informed that not staging IPL this year would lead to a revenue loss of Rs 4,000 crore. BCCI continues efforts to find a window for staging the postponed IPL this year, but that would depend on government directives, taking into account the health situation in the country.

“We will have to examine our financial situation, see how much money we have and take a call. Not hosting IPL will cause losses to the tune of R4,000 crore. If IPL takes place, we won’t have to go in for pay cuts, we’ll manage things,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told Mid Day.