‘Negative’ BCCI ordered to select India team Star, advertisers in a tizzy over uncertainty
CHAMPIONS TROPHY With India alone missing April 25 deadline, CoA tells Board to name squad without any delay HASHIM AMLA WITH 315 RUNS HAS BEEN IN GOOD FORM. MARTIN GUPTILL ALSO LOOKED IN TOUCH DURING HIS 27BALL HALFCENTURY. We have sent an email to the ICC asking how they plan to compensate us if our business is impacted due to India’s pullout.
The Supreme Courtappointed Committee of Administrators has rebuked the Board of Control for Cricket in India officials for delaying the naming of the Indian cricket team for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in UK.
In a strongly-worded letter to acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary on Thursday, the CoA, led by former auditor general of India Vinod Rai, took exception to the Board’s stance to use the players as pawns in their revenue-share battle with the ICC bosses.
“The BCCI appears to have lost sight of the fact that it attained a pre-eminent position in the ICC not by a combative approach but by building consensus and ensuring a positive image including by helping other cricket boards in their time of need,” the CoA said in its letter.
India, led by MS Dhoni, had won the ICC Champions Trophy in UK in 2013. India beat hosts England in a rain-hit final at Edgbaston. India start their 2017 ICC Champions Trophy campaign against Pakistan in Birmingham on June 4. “There has been more than enough negativity surrounding Team India’s participation in the ICC Champions Trophy and the sooner the same is put to rest the better. The players’ interests are paramount and they must be given the best chance to prepare for, defend and retain the ICC Champions Trophy,” the administrators said.
According to the ICC’s revised
financial model based on equity and good conscience, BCCI will receive $293 million across the eight year cycle, England $143m, Zimbabwe $94m and the remaining seven Full Members $132m each. Associate Members will receive funding of $280m. This model was passed 13 votes to one.
Unhappy with this model, India threatened to withdraw from the ICC Champions Trophy as a mark of protest. The CoA has rejected such an approach from the BCCI. India also failed to name their squad by April 25. time at each other’s homes. Now, all of us are married and, as such, responsibilities and the priority lists have changed,” Afridi added.
Afridi hailed India skipper Virat Kohli’s fitness and batting abilities. Last month, the Indian team presented Afridi a jersey with Virat’s name and jersey number on it.
Afridi recalled the moment when he hosted the Indian team at his Karachi house.
“I recall during one of India’s tours to Pakistan I invited the entire India team to my Karachi house. We prepared special Pathan-style rich food, full of lamb and mutton dishes. When the food was served, there was a complete silence in the room and The letter, addressed to BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary, said: “We believe the BCCI has not yet given the possibility of a negotiated outcome a fair chance...We also believe that it is in the interests of Indian cricket that the possibility of a negotiated outcome be fully and constructively pursued before the BCCI takes any irreversible step/ measure. Our discussions with the ICC and other cricket boards have revealed a trust deficit that the BCCI needs to do its part to address. At the same time, the ICC and other cricket boards have, during the said discussions, also expressed willingness to find common ground with the BCCI. The General Body of the BCCI has itself recognized the need to adopt a collaborative/ non-confrontational approach...
“In the meantime, it would be appropriate to make all necessary preparations for ensuring that Team India can successfully defend its title in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 which commences on 1st June 2017... Please convene a meeting of the selection committee for selecting the squad immediately. The squad can then be submitted to the ICC without prejudice to BCCI’s legal rights.
“...Team India should be provided with a supportive environment to showcase Indian cricket instead of being surrounded with uncertainty and confusion. There has been more than enough negativity surrounding India’s participation and the sooner the same is put to rest the better. The players’ interests are paramount and they must be given the best chance to prepare for, defend and retain (the title). The focus should be on enabling our team to achieve even greater heights and further laurels, which will automatically attract higher revenues. The BCCI appears to have lost sight of the fact that it attained a pre-eminent position in the ICC not by a combative approach but by building consensus and ensuring a positive image, including by helping other boards in
their time of need. my Indian friends were looking at each other. At that point, I realised that my honourable and respectable guests don’t eat that type of food. Quite a few of them were vegetarians, and so, we had to urgently replace the food with dal (lentils) and vegetable dishes. It was quite embarrassing for me to not know about the dietary requirements of the guests since our similarity of culture made me take many things for granted.
“That was a funny memory of my ‘hospitality’ for the Indian team,” he said.
With an aim to stay relevant till the business end, a desperate Kings XI Punjab will be aiming for a comprehensive victory against a down-and-out Royal Challengers Bangalore.
With 8 points from 9 games, KXIP are placed fifth while RCB after 8 defeats from 11 games are at the bottom of the heap. For Kings XI Punjab, a win will keep them in contention with another four matches to go.
The RCB under Virat Kohli will however be only playing for pride with an aim to finish on a winning note in their remaining matches.
With nothing at stake, Kohli might be inclined to give some of the youngsters a go, removing the non- performers.
After the high of the last international season, the IPL has been a kind of a setback for skipper Kohli with his team letting him down pretty badly. Kohli himself has been a lone ranger, amidst a bunch of non-performers.
KXIP crushed Delhi Daredevils by 10 wickets in their previous game. With RCB’s morale at its lowest, this is the best chance for
Star Sports have raised concerns with cricket’s governing body that advertisers might steer clear of the Champions Trophy if India opted against competing at the tournament in England.
At last week’s ICC meetings, the BCCI was outvoted 13-1 in its bid to stall a new revenue model which considerably slashes their financial share from global events in the 2015-2023 cycle.
Unimpressed by the $293 million forecast, down from the $570 million it would have received under a 2014 arrangement, the BCCI responded by refusing to name a squad for the June 1-18 one-day international competition by the April 25 cutoff date.
“There is concern in the market,” said the Star India official, who wished to remain anonymous, adding that the broadcaster had paid $1.9 billion for the ICC rights.
“There has been no official communication from the ICC or the BCCI on India’s participation.
“We have sent an email to the ICC asking how they plan to compensate us if our business is impacted due to India’s pullout.”
Rupert Murdoch’s Star group owns broadcast rights for 18 ICC global events to be held during an eight-year cycle from 2015, including two 50-over World Cups, two T20 World Cups and a similar number of Champions Trophy events. Matches: Kings XI Punjab won Royal Challengers Bangalore won KXIP to register another facile win in order to remain in contention.
For the Glenn Maxwell-led side, Hashim Amla with 315 runs, including a century, has been in good form. Martin Guptill also looked in ominous touch during his 27-ball half-century.
KXIP fans could be hoping a big knock from Maxwell, who has been a disappointment this year, just getting 193 runs in nine matches, with unbeaten 44 his highest.
India’s huge market is a major draw for sponsors and advertisers, who often plan product launches around major cricket tournaments and book advertising slots in advance.
The option of pulling out of the Champions Trophy by revoking the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) between the ICC and the BCCI has been gaining traction within the India board, who will discuss the issue at a special general meeting.
The operations of the BCCI are currently being supervised by four court-appointed administrators (COA), who has said it would intervene if the board took any drastic measures which might hurt Indian cricket.
“It is in the interests of the BCCI to continue negotiations with the ICC and other cricket boards to arrive at an amount/ share that is somewhere between that envisaged under the financial model that was put in place in 2014 and that which is envisaged under the revised financial model,” the COA said.
While KXIP batting needs to fire in unison, they will be hoping that pacers Sandeep Sharma and Varun Aaron do a repeat act of their performance against the Daredevils. They would also pin hopes on left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who has taken 10 wickets from nine matches.
For RCB, the problem has been the failure of their batting line-up which includes Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers and Kedar Jadhav. There has been stray performances but nothing collective.
Fringe India players like Mandeep Singh and Stuart Binny have been big disappointments for the popular franchise. The silver lining has been the performances of their two leg-spinners spinners -- Samuel Badree (9 wickets) and Yuzvendra Chahal (11 wickets).