ICC’s billion-dollar dream hits India roadblock

by Kuldip Lal

MUMBAI, Sept 30, 2006 (AFP) - The International Cricket Council’s bid to raise a billion dollars through the sale of media and sponsorship rights met resistance Wednesday from economic powerhouse India.

In a protest against the bid, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it would not sign an agreement that binds it and other cricket nations to all ICC events for the next eight years.

India’s cricket team would consequently be prevented from playing in the events which include the World Cup and Champions Trophy, a huge blow to the ICC which relies on India for almost 70 percent of revenues.

Five of the ICC’s six official sponsors advertise mainly in India whose large cricket-loving population is a sponsors’ dream.

“We have certain reservations about the agreement and will not sign it till our objections are resolved,” BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan told reporters after its annual general meeting here.

“We have formed a committee to study the agreement closely and will put our objections to the ICC.” Srinivasan, however, declined to reveal the clauses that the BCCI objected to, saying “it is not a matter to be discussed in front of the media.”

The ICC, whose existing seven-year media deal expires at the end of the 2007 World Cup, on Tuesday began meetings with broadcasters and media agencies for the sale of rights from late 2007 to 2015.

The ICC expects to double its existing 550-million dollar deal when the new contract is finalised to cover 18 tournaments, including two World Cups, three Champions Trophies and the first two Twenty20 world championships.

Other events include the ICC Trophy for associate members and the under-19 World Cups.

The BCCI caused a major row ahead of the last World Cup in South Africa in 2003 when it declined to sign the participating nations’ agreement over the controversial ambush marketing laws enforced by the ICC.

The BCCI objected to the clause which prevented its players from advertising products of companies that were rivals of the ICC’s official sponsors for a month on either side of the World Cup. India later relented and sent a team for the tournament but the media company which had the rights, the Global Cricket Corporation, withheld almost 47 million dollars in payment to the ICC.

India is due to host the 2011 World Cup - which forms part of the new agreement - jointly with its South Asian neighbours Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The 2015 World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed had said earlier he was looking forward to finalising the new eight-year deal. “The sale of the ICC’s commercial and broadcast rights makes this a hugely significant and exciting time for cricket,” Speed said in an ICC release.

“That sale gives us the opportunity to place cricket on a sound financial footing for the next eight years and, by doing that, it will provide all our members with the chance to both sustain and grow the game.

“Throughout this whole process we have only one aim in mind - securing the best deal for cricket,” Speed said.