India’s ICC revamp plan faces rough weather

Update: 2014-01-29 00:00 GMT
Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are reportedly opposing the revamp of administrative and financial structures of the ICC, which will cede most of the decision making in world cricket to the ‘Big Three’.

It has emerged now that the cricket Boards of Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh have formally written a letter to the ICC asking for a deferral of the ‘position paper’ proposals being pushed through by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB, the three richest and most powerful cricket Boards.

The PCB, CSA and SLC have sought more time to look through and internally discuss the radical changes being recommended in the ‘position paper’ which will be tabled during the Board Meeting. The BCB had formally asked for ‘further discussions’ on the matter.

‘Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, we all have one stance. Let us see what we vote inside. We will stick to our stance,’ Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf said before the meeting here.

‘We will vote for whatever is in Pakistan’s interests. We have to see what is in our interests when we vote,’ he said. Ashraf also talked about discussions with India on the possibility of playing at neutral venues, which many feel, the BCCI may offer as a ‘carrot’ for supporting the revamp plan which would hand the BCCI more power than it’s enjoying at present.

The ‘position paper’, which sought for a complete overhaul of the ICC’s administration and its revenue distribution, will fall flat if the four Boards decide to oppose it as seven votes out of 10 ICC Full Members will be required to carry it through.

The ‘Big Three’ are set to get the support of New Zealand and Zimbabwe while it is learnt that West Indies will eventually vote for the controversial proposal. But, to get the revamp plan passed by the ICC, one out of South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will have to support it and it may not be easy to do that. There has been aggressive lobbying for the past two days on the sidelines of the ICC’s Finance & Commercial committee meeting.

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