CHENNAI: Unable to reach a middle-ground over the new revenue sharing model, the BCCI is pushing the International Cricket Council to defer the changes until June and wants the incoming chairman — most likely Giles Clarke — to be at the helm of affairs when a final decision is reached.
It is understood that if its demands are not met, the BCCI is even contemplating boycotting the Champions Trophy.
But that would be easier said than done, as there is a members participation agreement signed by all full ICC members with regards to taking part in global events. There are also indications that the BCCI might send a second-string squad to the Champions Trophy in England from June 1-18.
In this backdrop, the ICC board meeting set for Wednesday is likely to witness plenty of negotiations as BCCI is gathering the support of other member boards.
However, the two-day meeting in Dubai could turn out to be a damp squib as well, as the BCCI officials — secretary Amitabh Chowdhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry — have already held negotiations with some members to reach a common ground over the revenue sharing model.
As per the changes proposed by Shashank Manohar, the BCCI will see its revenue decrease significantly from $570 million to $290 million (from 2015-23).
Even though Manohar reached out to the BCCI by offering an additional $100 million, the BCCI has turned it down, citing its lack of trust in the former.
It is reliably learnt that BCCI officials even refused a meeting with its former president.
But what has caught the ICC by surprise are the hectic parleys by the two BCCI officials, who have made counter offers to other ICC members. The BCCI has held talks over how to bring in a new revenue model without any full member compromising on income, but at the expense of two associates — Ireland and Afghanistan.
To compensate for losing out on more revenue, these two have been promised full-member status by 2019 and thereby a larger portion of revenue.
Explaining the thought behind this new model, a BCCI official said from Dubai that the BCCI has found an alternative way to cut down on the administrative expenses of the ICC, more recently with regards to the amount allocated for Champions Trophy.
“A problem will arise only if the revenue of other members is deducted and thereby ours (BCCI) is increased. So keeping that in mind, we have made an offer where other members will get the same percentage as proposed by Manohar, but the BCCI will also get what it rightly deserves. All that we are asking for is to defer a decision on this till the next meeting in June, because there is no urgency and we can have more discussions on this front,” a board official told Express from Dubai on Tuesday.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com