CHENNAI: The BCCI will hold its next quarterly Apex Council meeting on October 17. Discussions on approving accounts for 2018-19, domestic cricket and bilateral series are on the agenda of the virtual meeting to be attended by eight Apex Council members (nine, if the interim CEO joins in).
Although the BCCI hopes to be able to host England in a series of five Tests from February 2021 as per the international schedule, it depends on the situation in India. President Sourav Ganguly said a few days ago that the board wants to stage these matches at home. But with COVID-19 making things uncertain, a decision will not be taken in haste.
It is learnt that board officials are willing to wait until the end of the tour of Australia (January 19, tentatively), before taking a decision. If it's not possible in India, BCCI will look at the UAE as an alternative.
Matches not taking place in India means BCCI loses out on earnings from telecast rights. Star bought the rights from 2018-23 for Rs 6138.1 crore, which comes to an average of Rs 60 crore per match. Cancellation of two ODIs against South Africa and three against England due to the pandemic has already cost the board Rs 300 crore. Staging the England Tests along with the cancelled ODIs is important from the financial point of view, hence the UAE is a back-up.
The pandemic continues to cast a shadow over domestic cricket. The BCCI was thinking of a truncated season with the Ranji Trophy being the priority in the men's section. As the situation continues to be worrying in several parts of the country, there may be second thoughts. If need be, only the one-dayers and T20s will be played.
But the Apex Council council can only discuss and propose plans. Decisions on restructuring of domestic cricket have to be approved by the general body. As things stand, there is no certainty over a general body meeting either. There is time till December 30 to hold the meeting.
As far as accounts for 2018-19 goes, it is learnt that papers of that period are still not cleared. The BCCI was run by the court-appointed committee of administrators during that time. Even this would require the approval of the general body, as that is the only forum where annual accounts can be passed.
No ICC candidate yet
The International Cricket Council has started the process of electing its next chairman. October 18 is the last date of filing nominations. Candidates have to be a present or former member of the ICC Board. He or she also has to be seconded by a member of the ICC Board.
Till this point in time, the BCCI has not decided whether Ganguly or anybody else will be nominated. Whether the BCCI would back anybody for the post is not listed in the agenda of the Apex Council meeting.