ICC rejects Pakistan’s compensation claim against India on bilateral series

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) dispute panel on Tuesday dismissed Pakistan’s compensation claim against India for allegedly failing to honour a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral series, ending the long-standing feud by accepting the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) arguments on the matter. “...the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) claim is dismissed. Costs are reserved,” the ICC stated in the one-line order that concluded a 26-page judgement.

“The judgement is binding and non-appealable,” it added.

The PCB had demanded Rs 447 crore compensation after alleging that the BCCI didn’t honour the MoU that required India to play six bilateral series between 2015 to 2023. The BCCI, on its part, maintained that the alleged MoU was not binding and did not stand as Pakistan failed to honour a commitment to support the revenue model suggested by India for the ICC.

The Indian Board also said that bilateral cricket with Pakistan was subject to government clearance, which has not been forthcoming since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. “We are happy that our stand has been vindicated. What PCB termed as Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was just a proposal letter,” Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai said.

Rai said BCCI will now file a counter compensation case against the PCB to demand the cost of arbitration. “We will make a presentation to the panel and demand entire cost of compensation to be borne by the PCB for the arbitration where there claims have been dismissed.”

The PCB reacted with disappointment and said it would weigh its options after going through the judgement. “The PCB notes with regret the decision of the Disputes Resolution Committee,” their statement said.

“PCB will determine its future course of action in this regard after detailed deliberations and consultations with its stakeholders,” it added.

“We will make a presentation to the panel and demand entire cost of compensation to be borne by the PCB for the arbitration where there claims have been dismissed”