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Reuters: India’s chances of participating in the Champions Trophy brightened on Thursday when a court-appointed panel of administrators asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pick the squad for the 1-18 June tournament.
Holders India did not submit its squad for the one-day international tournament in England and Wales by the 25 April deadline after BCCI failed to halt a new revenue model to be accepted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The option of pulling out of the Champions Trophy by revoking the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) between the ICC and the BCCI has been gaining traction within the India board, which will discuss the issue at a special general meeting on Sunday.
The four court-appointed administrators, who currently supervise BCCI operations, have instructed the board to ensure that the team continued their preparations to defend their title.
“You are aware that the squad representing India at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 was to be submitted by 25th April 2017 but the squad has not even been selected as yet,” the administrators told BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary in an email.
“Please convene a meeting of the selection committee for selecting the squad immediately. The squad can then be submitted to the ICC without prejudice to BCCI’s legal rights.”
The BCCI was outvoted 13-1 last week at the ICC meetings in its bid to stall the new deal which considerably slashes India’s share from global events in the 2015-2023 cycle.
India is now expected to receive $ 293 million, down from the $ 570 million it would have received under the 2014 arrangement.
ESPNCricinfo: Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are among a group of 12 former cricketers who want India to play the upcoming Champions Trophy in England.
All the players ESPNcricinfo contacted - Tendulkar, Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Gundappa Viswanath, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Saba Karim, Murali Kartik, and Deep Dasgupta - were unanimous in their opinion that India should attempt to defend the Champions Trophy title that they won in 2013.
The doubt over India’s participation in the Champions Trophy arose after the BCCI missed the 25 April deadline to send its squad for the tournament to the ICC. The board had said the delay was due to “operational” reasons.
The concerns over India’s participation have increased since then, after the BCCI was outvoted by a massive margin at the ICC Board meeting in April, when the ICC’s members approved a new constitution, governance structure and finance model. The biggest sticking point for the BCCI was the finance model, in which it stands to get a reduced share of ICC revenue when compared to the existing Big Three model.
The BCCI is divided over the issue, with a faction strongly in favour of revoking the Members Participation Agreement with the ICC, which would rule India out of hosting and participating in all ICC tournaments until 2023, the end of the present rights cycle.
A final decision on India’s participation in the Champions Trophy is likely to be taken by the BCCI at its special general body meeting on 7 May in Delhi.
