There have been a few recent developments in the world of cricket that have created a rift in the relationship between ICC and BCCI. The two tier tests, allocation of funds for Champions trophy, important ICC committees having no Indian representatives etc. are some of the things that have angered BCCI. Even though ICC is supposed to be the head organization for cricket on paper, BCCI has repeatedly shown ICC who the baap is. Here are 5 reasons why BCCI controls the running of ICC.
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It is important to note here that even though Shashank Manohar, an Indian is at the helm of affairs at ICC, decisions are supposed to be taken based on the number of votes. Regardless of this, there are enough reasons to suggest that BCCI controls ICC.
Highest share of Revenues
The total revenue of ICC is $2.5 billion (Rs 16,200 crores). Out of this, the biggest share is from BCCI. BCCI contributes to around 30% of the share, while the second most is from England Cricket Board which is close to 12%. The third and fourth highest positions are Australia and Pakistan Cricket Boards, which contribute to 5 and 4 percentages respectively.
Record Viewership
India is one of the most-cricket crazy nations in the world. There is almost no place in India, where cricket can’t be a conversation starter. The recent proposal of acquisition of Ten Sports by Sony India for such a huge valuation is also owing to this same reason. In fact, viewership for several of the bi-lateral series involving India has crossed the viewership of the cricket’s oldest rivalry, The Ashes.
The recent ICC World T20 in India was watched by 730 million viewers in India. No country can beat this figure this for sure.
BCCI’s power in decision making
BCCI has the power to alter the decisions of ICC. For example, in the case of Decision Review System (DRS) for review of umpiring decisions, majority of the cricket boards were in favour of introducing the system. However, BCCI was against it and finally the decision was altered in favour of BCCI. It was modified such that the participating countries can get to decide whether to have the system or not, series wise.
Plain economics
India is a country with excellent demographics. With a growing population, India will soon top the population figures. With the advent of technologies, the viewership will definitely increase. Moreover, in India, a majority of the population are young adults and this is exciting news for the corporate brands. These brands view India as an excellent destination for marketing due to the ever increasing consumption and growing incomes. Hence, there will be no shortage of sponsors (at a premium deal value) for tournaments involving India.
Funding of few cricket boards
BCCI also supports the teams of other nations. After winning the World Cup T20 in 2016, Dwayne Bravo said that “even BCCI does more for us (compared to the West Indies Cricket Board)”. BCCI organises Indian tours of nations like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe on a regular basis compared to other nations. This helps in grooming these nations, as well as improving the finances of these cricket boards.
