'How can I tell you now? We are ready with all possible scenarios. So let the process happen which is supposed to take place and then we will see what to do. I can’t say in advance about it. It could be a good decision and I am confident that it will be a good decision. '
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai was non-committal on being asked whether the COA will ask Team India to participate or allow them to boycott the ICC Champions Trophy, starting in the United Kingdom, on June 1.
Rai pointed out that the final decision on India’s participation rests largely on what the members decide at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Special General Meeting which is scheduled on May 7.
Asked whether the COA will overrule the BCCI if they decide to boycott the Champions Trophy, Rai replied: “This is a hypothetical question. Let the SGM first take a decision. I have requested the acting president (C K Khanna), I have requested the acting Secretary (Amitabh Choudhary) to convene an SGM and the SGM has been convened on May 7.”
The International Cricket Council's (ICC) board on Wednesday voted to pass a new financial model that will reverse a 2014 decision which effectively put India, England and Australia in control of the game's finances and administration.
Under the new financial model and governance structure, the split of revenues from the ICC for the years 2016 to 2023 will be altered to address the imbalance currently favouring the three boards.
The BCCI was the only one to oppose the new financial model, which would see their revenue share cut by almost half and they have threatened to boycott the Champions Trophy if the ICC goes ahead with the changes.
Rai claimed that the COA is ready with all possible scenarios and assured that they will take a ‘good decision’ in the interest of Indian cricket.
“How can I tell you now? We are ready with all possible scenarios. So let the process happen which is supposed to take place and then we will see what to do. I can’t say in advance about it. It could be a good decision and I am confident that it will be a good decision. Whatever decision you want, that will happen, but by chance if it doesn’t happen, then we will see,” Rai said in Mumbai on Friday.
The former CAG stated that the COA and the BCCI officials are on the same page and they will sit down again and try to resolve the issue.
“We are 100 per cent on the same page. As you know, they had an SGM meeting before they went (to the ICC meeting). The next day, I invited them to talk to us and we discussed in detail what they had decided, what we had negotiated. After all they are the office bearers, they need to represent BCCI, so they represented BCCI in the ICC. The ICC has not listed to their viewpoint, we will discuss again, we will come to a solution and don’t worry that solution will be to your satisfaction. Some things didn’t work out the way we wanted it to be, but there is always an avenue open, so there is nothing to worry about.”
“Don’t worry; we will not let anyone down. Nothing to worry about, nothing is lost, it is not a closed chapter,” he further added.
India, meanwhile, have yet to submit their squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The BCCI failed to deliver the squad by the Tuesday deadline, giving full indications they might boycotting the tournament altogether.
When asked if India could take such an extreme step, Rai replied: “I am not saying that, you (the media) are saying that. What I am saying is that whatever decision is taken, it will be to everyone’s satisfaction.”
He went to add that missing the deadline to name the squad for the Champions Trophy does not indicate that India could skip the event.
“There is no such thing as a deadline. The Champions Trophy will start on June 1. The deadlines are fixed so that there is some kind of system in place,” he said.
According to reports, the ICC is ready to pay the ICC $100 million more than the original share from the revamped revenue model. According to a senior BCCI official present in Dubai, the ICC has not yet withdrawn its offer of $390 million -- nearly 100 million more than the original $293 million.
The offer, which came from ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar, was originally rejected by the BCCI.
But Rai pointed out that the COA along with the BCCI officials would examine the ICC’s offer and make a decision based on their discussion.
“It is still in the process of negotiation. What happens when you negotiate, like for example when you go to buy a vegetable you try and bargain, similarly an offer has been made and we will examine it, no cause for concern,” he said.
Rai also clarified that there is no truth in the report that the Indian players have not been paid for the last six months. He said a player or two might have a problem in getting their payments but the issue would be resolved within the next 24 hours.
“That report is totally false. Show me the report. I will show you my records that the payment has been made, may be something is held up somewhere. All players have been paid; in fact we have paid the state associations also. Maybe if someone has been left behind, we will take care of it, there must be some reason and we will obviously rectify it and we will rectify it within 24 hours,” he said.
Image: Vinod Rai
Photograph: BCCI
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