Your Money My Money, ICC Money My Money, All Money My Money: BCCI

Adamant BCCI wants everyone’s money, but who’s listening?

(Photo: Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

BCCI wants all the money in the world. Even Afghanistan’s. Lucky for the Afghans though, the person at the helm of world cricket knows a thing or two about the functioning of the richest cricket board in the world.

Shashank Manohar stands for parity, and since being elected Chairman of the ICC in May of 2016, his single motive has been to ensure India don’t eat up all the money in world cricket. Or in his words, “provide a strong foundation for the sport to grow and improve globally in the future through the adoption of the revised financial model and governance structure.”

As of 27 April, Manohar is a happy man.

Five days of one of ICC’s most intensive and controversial meetings and BCCI now stand to make just half of what they had expected, in the current ICC revenue cycle of 2016-2023.

Quick Recon: The Numbers

(Photo: Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

N Srinivasan, in 2014, as Chairman of the ICC laid out a new revenue model in which India, England and Australia would collect a lion’s share of the board’s revenue.

Called the “Big Three”, this proposal was based on the premise that these three big nations of world cricket account for almost 80 percent of the sport’s revenue and thus should be rewarded accordingly.

Enter Manohar and in Feb 2017, he had convinced all voting boards in the ICC to roll back the flawed revenue model and share the board’s money in a more proportionate manner.

India would now get $293 million from ICC in an eight-year span instead of the earlier proposed $590 million.

What Happened in Dubai?

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You could call the last week in Dubai a coup, if Amitabh Chaudhary and his N Srinivasan-flavoured impertinence was not factored in.

While Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators’ Vikram Limaye represented the BCCI in ICC in its last meeting in February, the apex court relented and allowed Chaudhary to helm India’s “charge” for the meeting this past week. Big mistake.

Because between February and now, Shashank Manohar had appealed to the logic of the CoA members and negotiated a settlement of sorts, where BCCI would now be given $400 million, instead of the $293 million. There was one clause though; the offer would be off the table the moment India elected instead to take the case for a vote.

Amitabh Chaudhary, of course, wanted the vote.

The new model was passed 13 votes to one. Only India voted in India’s favour.

BCCI’s Alternate Offer

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Choudhury though did go to Dubai with a plan. An offer, if you may, for the other Full member nations.

An ESPNCricinfo report says that the BCCI offered an altogether new formula for revenue sharing to the voting boards. One in which their share of the pie would remain the same as what ICC was currently offering them. Nothing would change for the big Test-playing nations.

So where would the BCCI’s $280 million deficit come from? Not the ICC. Not ECB or CA.

BCCI proposed to scoop out their deficit from the money allotted to two Associates - Ireland and Afghanistan. And what was still left to get, would be collected from cutting down the ICC’s administrative costs by $100 million.

The ICC is yet to tell us what is the basis on which a nation like Singapore stands to gain more. What exactly are the grounds? Can they explain how are they trying to cut down the Operational Costs of ICC which is USD 160 million?

BCCI Official to PTI

Who Will Get How Much?

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With all 13 boards other than India voting for Manohar’s new model, England’s cricket board will now make $143 million in the 2016-2023 revenue cycle. Zimbabwe will receive $94 million and the remaining seven Full Members, including Australia, will make $132 million each.

Associate Members (like Ireland and Afghanistan) will receive funding of $280m.

India’s BCCI are now slated to make $293 million. Still more than double any other single cricket board.

Champions Trophy Snub?

India’s biggest threat so far (and always) against unwanted administrative changes in the ICC has been to threaten a pull-out.

And on the line may well be India’s title defence of the Champions Trophy, an event that’s starting on 1 June 2017.

Citing the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) that gives the board the right to take drastic actions to safeguard India’s interests, BCCI officials already have started talking about a possible withdrawal from the event.

All options are open. They have basically disrespected the Members’ Participation Agreement that was earlier signed. As of now the joint secretary will go back and an emergent SGM will be called. He will then apprise the General Body about the developments and an appropriate decision will be taken.

BCCI Official to PTI

The pull-out is the preferred path of the BCCI faction of India’s cricket administration. SC-appointed CoA Chief Vinod Rai, however, refused to add any more fuel to the fire burning off board members’ flayed egos.

"I would not like to comment on a hypothetical situation as none of the BCCI officials have spoken to me," Rai told PTI.