The much-maligned Afro-Asia Cup cricket tournament suffered a major setback, with Nimbus threatening to pull the plug on telecast of the matches.
Nimbus, which had bagged the television rights for the inter-continental event from the Asian Cricket Council, said the relevant terms of the contract would not apply anymore since the matches were originally scheduled for last year.
"We have been told [by Nimbus] that the terms have to be suitably changed because the financial figures mentioned in the contract were applicable only for last year and not this year," an ACC source said.
Coming with less than a week to go for the tournament, to be held from June 6 to 10 in Bangalore and Chennai, Nimbus' ultimatum is sure to leave the ACC and the series in a major crisis.
The Afro-Asia Cup was first held in 2005 featuring three one-dayers in South Africa.
The event, the brainchild of former BCCI and ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, was initially planned to be held annually for three years. But Dalmiya's ouster from the BCCI, the financial power that drives modern cricket, seemed to sound the death knell for the tournament and it was not part of the international calendar in 2006.
This year's edition features an expanded programme, including three ODIs and a Twenty-20 fixture between the Asian and African teams besides matches between the women's teams of the two regions.
Nimbus' threat comes close on the heels of Zee TV pulling out of a five-year broadcast deal with the BCCI earlier in the day.
But the tournament has already lost its sheen with top names from both sides making themselves unavailable.
The matches have failed to generate any excitement among the cricketers who have already been complaining about the crammed scheduling.
India's captain Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, and South African skipper Graeme Smith are among those who will be missing from action next week.
