ICC meeting Live Updates – T20 World Cup on agenda, IPL 2021 on sidelines: The International Cricket Council Board will meet in Dubai on Tuesday to discuss T20 World Cup, finalization of Future Tours Program (2023-31) and various other important issues. Most of the member boards will attend the meet virtually – but the BCCI top honchos have started reaching Dubai to not only attend the meeting but also to discuss issues related to IPL 2021 on the sidelines of ICC Meet.
ICC meeting Live Updates – BCCI representative to discuss IPL 2021 on sidelines
BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla is alread in Dubai, so in BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal. It is also being reported in next 48 hours even BCCI secretary Jay Shah, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel are also expected to reach Dubai for talks with the top brass of Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and also to attend ICC Meeting.
“I am already here. Now a team of BCCI office-bearers, president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and the IPL chairman Brijesh Patel will be coming here in a couple of days,” Shukla told Khaleej Times.
ICC Meeting Live Updates: BCCI to ask for 1 month extension to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup
The BCCI will ask for one month’s extension to decide on hosting the T20 World Cup in India amid the looming COVID-19 threat when the all-powerful ICC Board holds a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss a host of other issues as well.
Ganguly had informed after the SGM on Saturday that the BCCI will seek extension from ICC to gauge the situation and take a final call on the matter.
In a media release, the apex board said that the members have “authorised” BCCI to write to the ICC and ask for another month before taking an “appropriate call” on hosting the marquee event.
While no concrete outcomes are expected, it will certainly be important given BCCI’s efforts to shift IPL 2021 to UAE and hence retain the T20 World Cup hosting rights in India.
The ICC is likely to make a formal announcement of its final decision during its annual conference that starts on July 18, PTI reported.
“The COVID-19 cases are reducing but obviously it is still not a situation where we can firmly commit to hosting the World T20. Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah are right in asking for one month’s time to decide,” a senior BCCI source privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
ICC meeting Live Updates – Agenda of the meeting
1) ICC T20 World Cup – How to accommodate Pakistan team
This will be a big issue for the BCCI. The board had recently shortlisted nine venues for the event which will bring together 16 teams and is currently scheduled to be played between mid-October and November 14. But the biggest challenge is hosting Pakistan. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was played in 2012-13. Since then due to political strain on the border there have only been ICC clashes. “The issue of Pakistan travelling to Mumbai could be more of a political decision where the security will also need to be factored in,” a BCCI official was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying.
2) ICC T20 World Cup – How to trigger the contingency plan if India becomes unsuitable?
While BCCI is doing all it can to host the T20 World Cup in India, a plan B is needed in case it is not possible. The country is currently in the grip of an intense Covid-19 second wave and has seen record numbers of positive cases, which forced the suspension of IPL.
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On Saturday, BCCI confirmed that IPL will be shifted to UAE, which is also ICC’s back-up venue, in case India gets ruled out.
3) ICC T20 World Cup – Who will get the hosting rights if the World Cup moves to UAE?
In case the competition eventually moves out to UAE, the big question for ICC is sorting out the retention of BCCI’s hosting rights. Hosting the showcase event will bring in a big amount of money for the host nation.
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According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, the host earns anywhere near $250,000-300,000 per match in an ICC event.
4) ICC T20 World Cup – Tax exemption issue
The ICC Board and BCCI will also have a discussion on the issue of tax exemptions. The global cricket body had sought tax exemption from the Indian government for staging the T20 World Cup in India. ICC in 2016, withheld nearly $30 million from BCCI’s share for the 2016 World Cup.
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The explanation given was that since the BCCI failed to get the government’s tax exemption, it lost the amount. In 2020, the global body even threatened to move the World Cup out of India in case no exemption is given. BCCI is yet to give an update on the matter.
5) ICC T20 World Cup- FTP Cycle 2023-31
The Futures Tours & Programme Cycle for the next eight years between 2023 to 2031 will also be discussed with provision for the flagship ICC events apart from the bilateral series.
“Obviously due to the pandemic, every cricket board has lost money and the bilateral events are the way forward to recover the costs. In any case, currently rested ICC CEO Manu Sawhney’s proposal of a marquee ICC event every year was red flagged by the ‘Big Three’ much earlier.
“They need to look after the financial health of their boards,” the official further added.
ICC meeting Live Updates – Agenda of the meeting
The ICC T20 World Cup Schedule:
In April, BCCI shortlisted Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Dharamsala, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad as the host cities for the event which will take place from October 18 to November 14.
ICC meeting Live Updates – Agenda of the meeting
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