BCCI likely to prefer bilateral series over ICC tournaments in post-Covid era

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal signalled that bilateral series’ will play a major role in helping different boards regain their plundered financial loses.

Hyderabad: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal hinted that the Indian cricket board will focus on the bilateral series rather than the ICC tournaments following the resumption of the game after controlling the coronavirus pandemic.

Dhumal signalled that bilateral series’ will play a major role in helping different boards regain their plundered financial loses. He pointed out that bilateral series’ will be important for the ICC as well because it’s the combination of these boards which has formed it.

When asked whether BCCI would consider playing bilateral series rather than participating in the recent ICC tournaments, Dhumal replied, “Yes, easily that adds more money to any cricket board. That is why priority is everyone comes on board and finds out what is best. If individual cricket boards survive then only ICC survives, isn’t it? It’s not that ICC on its own can survive and feed all the cricket boards.

If all of us are back to our feet, then only we’ll be able to help each other. I think that’ll be the endeavour of everyone associated with the game, that to revive world cricket it is very important that all the boards are in a healthy financial position,” he said in an recent interview.

BCCI treasurer claimed that the board has several ideas to recover the losses and get cricket back on its feet once the pandemic eases, however, there’s no clarity on which plan would work.

“We have many, many thoughts as of now. We need to discuss all of this with counterparts in ECB, CA and all other boards and then we’ll work out a strategy,” he said.

“We haven’t mulled over this idea and this needs to be worked out with the broadcaster also, you have to certainly make compromises if we’re going ahead with two teams. We need to think through this and see what best can be done,” he added.