The International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet in Dubai next month to pass a resolution that has serious potential to cause Indian cricket losses in excess of £90 million for the financial cycle between 2015-2023. This will be a direct result of policy changes regarding revenue distribution being planned by majority full members of the ICC.
According sources, ICC expects $ 2.5 billion as revenue for the cycle 2015-23. BCCI is expected to receive at least $ 507 million as contribution costs during this cycle. However, the decision of the world governing body's independent chairman, Shashank Manohar, to reduce the income of Big Three - India, Australia and England - from 21.9% to 15% will hurt the Indian board massively (projected at £90 million). For the next cycle - 2023-31 - the loss is expected to be to the tune of £ 200 million.
Therefore, the total losses likely to hurt India's interests in the next 14 years (between now and 2031) could be pegged at £300 million. ICC's position paper for the 2008-15 cycle clearly suggests that the parent body generated a total revenue of $1.57 billion which was distributed in the following manner: Each Full Member (FM) received $52.5mn, Associate & Affiliate (A&A) distribution was shown at $315mn but only $125mn was directly distributed to A&A members and the remaining $190mn was spent by ICC as grants, distribution or costs - details of which was not approved by the ICC Board nor its all-powerful Financial & Commercial Affairs Committee.
When the position paper for 2015-23 was drafted, the above details were included to introduce a revised model. Distribution and costs were allocated based on total revenue ICC would generate. It categorically states that distribution of revenue was earlier done based on India contributing to revenues but it would change now. The move to bring about the Big Three financial model first began when former BCCI president N Srinivasan came on board as the chairman of the ICC. It was then pointed out that more than 85% of media rights income that accrues to ICC for ICC events are coming from Indian market and almost 100% of the sponsorships for ICC events are from Indian companies.
BCCI was made a member in all important committees of the ICC for taking decisions. However, the recent bosses of the Indian board now blame Manohar for deliberately keeping them away after taking over. The BCCI's sacked regime says it was Manohar who insisted that some full members of the ICC were unhappy with BCCI earning a larger share in revenue and gave himself the authority to renegotiate.
