CHENNAI : Former ICC chairman N Srinivasan has once again rebutted the current financial model of the world body, which has seen BCCI take a potential revenue cut of $180-190 million. He also stated that “the power of cricket still remains with India, and though we have given away our rights, it will come back”.
More than a year-and-a-half after ICC restructured the Big Three model — conceived by the former BCCI president along with Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) — Srinivasan said that it is about time the Indian board receives its “rightful” share.Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of his coffee-table book that details his association with India Cements, Srinivasan — in a panel discussion including former India captains Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni — said that BCCI has only temporarily lost its voice in ICC.
Going back to ICC’s financial model, Srinivasan believes that India has every right to ask for its share as 75 per cent of revenue is generated by BCCI. As ICC chairman, Srinivasan had worked out a financial model that saw BCCI receiving around $570 million. But soon after he stepped aside, successor Shashank Manohar went on to restructure ICC, and the Big Three model was abolished. Under the current policy, BCCI earnings from ICC is only around $293 million.
With BCCI in disarray, its case was weakened as ICC unanimously passed the new financial model. “The last World Cup, when I was chairman, generated $2 billion. Nearly $1.7 billion came from India. All these so-called big nations contributed only around $20 million. I had argued even prior to that that India should get more. The power of cricket still remains with India, but we have given away our rights. But I am sure it will come back.
“They said that I bullied ICC. Are they small children? We were only demanding what we deserved. For one or two years, some fellow for his gain can throw in money. But it will come back to BCCI. They cant do without India. I’m told that unless India pays the tax, they can’t host the 2023 World Cup. Then every country will cry. They will be the losers. Not India. We have just started to realise how strong Indian cricket is.”
Srinivasan elaborated the link between players and BCCI’s financial muscle. “The turning point was when media rights came in. When India won their first World Cup, BCCI didn’t even have the money to felicitate players. It had to organise a concert to pay them. But once the true value of their game was realised through media rights, money flowed.
“I firmly believe that the income for media rights comes from players. If it doesn’t go back to the players, then we are useless. It is pointless to have the board. That is how pension funds started. We even gave to the widows of cricketers. We in BCCI felt good after the impact it made on their lives. With IPL also making money, we also brought in the one-time benefit fund.”