Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) insistence that it would bring up the topic of suspended bilateral ties with India at the immediate available opportunity did not materialise at the recent meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) held in Colombo last week. However, it is reliably learnt that the PCB - along with Asian counterparts Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) - decided to stick its neck out and support India in the ongoing backroom tussle with the International Cricket Council.
The Asian bloc, sources said, was unanimous in its view that the Indian cricket board - by way of its resources, reach and financial strength - could not be ignored as far as the game's overall well-being is concerned. “If world cricket has to sustain, Indian cricket has to be at the forefront of it. Indian cricket is not just about catering to India's prospects but a thriving diaspora. I don't want to get into what BCCI is dealing with at the moment. That's their internal matter,” a board representative present at the meeting said.
The BCCI has been busy garnering support from member boards in trying to deny a recently formed member-board consortium from changing the financial dynamics of the sport. In the year gone by, Cricket Australia (CA), New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have been at the forefront to bring about a change in financial redistribution of world cricket rights. In line with trying to rejig the game's revenues, CA and the ECB had led discussions at the ICC meeting in Edinburgh and Cape Town earlier this year to try and lobby for pooling of international cricket rights - a move that was thwarted by the BCCI.
PCB, SLC and BCB coming on board with India could mean four decisive votes at the ICC board, which could be enough to turn the tables.
A source present at the ACC meeting also confirmed that SLC chairman Thilanga Sumathipala had spoken with ICC chief executive David Richardson about the Asian bloc's concerns regarding BCCI when the latter had toured Sri Lanka recently. The BCCI clearly believes that ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has not acted in the best interests of Indian cricket, despite using the Indian board's support to occupy the position. The relations between BCCI and top ICC officials further soured when Richardson told an Indian media channel in September this year that BCCI President Anurag Thakur had verbally requested Manohar to write a letter to the BCCI citing government interference if CAG was brought on board.
The ICC's next board meeting is scheduled in February and regardless of who is at the helm of affairs in Indian cricket administration, the BCCI will have to continue looking for support from member boards of the ICC if they have to defy member board consortia from taking over the financial reins of the game.
