An Asian solidarity that helped the sub-continent win many a boardroom cricket battle in the past is on the verge of collapse. The cricket Boards of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are against passing of a draft proposal aimed at restructuring the International Cricket Council’s administration and financial distribution model. The controversial ‘Position Paper’, mooted jointly by India (BCCI), England (ECB) and Australia (CA), is pushing for a greater revenue share of ICC’s earnings for the Big Three and almost unilateral control over who plays who in world cricket. The South African Board (CSA) has called already called the proposal “fundamentally flawed“. The world No. 1 Test side is slowly finding more critical support as ICC’s executive Board meets in Dubai over Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to well-placed sources, Pakistan (PCB), Sri Lanka (SLC) and Bangladesh (BCB) are opposing big brother BCCI in accepting a proposal that will enable India to enjoy enormous power in running world cricket and sharing the spoils from it. Boards clearly want more time to understand the ramifications of the ‘Position Paper’ that apparently looks top-heavy and lopsided. A final word is expected on Wednesday evening.
PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has reportedly told a Pakistani TV channel that four Boards were “united” in their stand against the ‘Position Paper.’ Ashraf said he would vote for “whatever is in Pakistan’s interests”. “We have to see what is in our interests when we vote,” Ashraf told TV channel ARY TV, adding: “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.”
Given the importance of this proposal, it will need a special resolution to accept the far-reaching changes in the way cricket will be played and revenue shared. ICC will require a meeting to pass the resolution and according to its constitution eight out of the 10 full members will need to back the proposal.
