Board nudging Manohar for bigger slice of ICC revenue pie

NEWDELHI: With the International Cricket Council’s Annual Conference barely a month away, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials are busy reaching out to ICC chairman Shashank Manohar over getting the best possible deal after the global body voted to roll back the Big Three revenue and administrative model.

It is learnt that Manohar, who is holidaying in the Maharashtra hill resort of Mahabaleshwar, has been approached by the acting secretary of the Indian cricket board, Amitabh Choudhary, seeking a revision of the reduced revenue earmarked for India by the ICC Board last month.

“The prevailing feeling in the board is that we should agree to the revenue model, maybe get a little more than $400 million, but we should also deliberate on the governance model,” a source told HT.

Head of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), Vinod Rai, had said India focused too much on ICC revenue and ignored the governance model, which was also passed in the world body’s Board.

“The BCCI officials have been speaking to Manohar, telling him that being an Indian he should manage certain concessions,” the source added.

While the ICC Board has decided and June’s annual conference will only ratify the decisions made in April, BCCI is banking on a window before the annual conference in June. “The ICC board members will meet for maybe a couple of hours prior to the annual meet that ratifies decisions. The board members may agree to make certain changes,” said a top official.

The CoA is in constant touch with Manohar and is talking to the BCCI officials, asking them to negotiate with the ICC boss.

BCCI acting president CK Khanna told Hindustan Times, “The acting secretary has been give full powers and entrusted with the job of talking to ICC. We are looking to reach a deal agreeable to all sides.”

THE COA IS IN CONSTANT TOUCH WITH MANOHAR AND IS TALKING TO THE BCCI OFFICIALS, ASKING THEM TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE ICC BOSS.