Hyderabad: With Board of Control for in India (BCCI) is set to get a new set of administrations ICC seems to have headed towards a new face-off with the game's mightest cricket body of the world, BCCI.
ICC has reportedly inserted a brand new tournament to its upcoming cricket cycle and they did it despite BCCI's vehement objection.
As Supreme Court-Appointed Committee of Administrions's (CoA) tenure with BCCI is set to expire with Sourav Ganguly led administrators' arrival at the office on October 23, ICC wisely used the time-frame to include an extra global event in its forthcoming cricket cycle, which begins after the end of 2023 World Cup slated to take place in India.
As reports suggested, the ICC's decision, made at its Dubai office over this weekend in a closed-door meeting, meant that its next year eight-year cycle running from 2023 to 2031 would have one ICC global (men's and women's) event every year: two 50-over World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two editions of this extra event, which is learnt to be another 50-over tournament.
People who are familiar with the development said that the new tournament is being planned along the line of a shorter-duration Champions Trophy each for men and women. The Champions Trophy has now become dysfunctional after the innovation of ICC World Test Championship.
BCCI's newly elected president Sourav Ganguly has already made it clear that he would make a full-fledged attempt to make sure that world's richest cricket body, BCCI, get maximum 'profit share' from ICC's annual revenues as the Indian cricket is the biggest source of revenue for the global parent body of cricket, which is 70% of the global cricket revenues.
The former left-handed batsman and incumbent Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president said he would make sure India get what it "deserves".
Johri protested on behalf of BCCI
It is also learnt that Rahul Johri, BCCI's chief executive officer, has already sent a warning to his ICC counterpart Manu Sawhney saying that a new global tournament in the existing system would affect bilateral calender.
Johri said that if the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the next cycle (2023-31) was finalised keeping BCCI in dark, it would not only be "premature" but have "wide-ranging repercussions" on bilateral cricket.
Manohar defended ICC's decision
"The Board decided that the eight-year cycle commencing in 2023 will comprise eight Men's events, eight Women's events, four Men's U19 events and four Women's U19 events," the ICC said in a release on Monday.
"In examining a whole range of options, the Board felt a major Men's and Women's event each year will bring consistency to our calendar whilst complementing bilateral cricket, giving our sport a strong future foundation," Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman, said.
"It will provide clear structure and context to enable the growth of the sport and greater engagement opportunities for all of our stakeholders," he said quashing BCCI's concern.
