BCCI is set to agree with Committee of Administrators' (COA) stance of not boycotting Champions Trophy over ICC's revenue-sharing model. Is this the beginning of the thaw?
The Indian team, led by Mahendra SinghâÂu00c2u0080Âu00c2u0088Dhoni celebrate their ICC Champions Trophy win after beating hosts England in the final at Edgbaston, Birmingham on June 23, 2013. Pic /Getty Images
Virat Kohli & Co. can start packing their kit bags for next month's ICC Champions Trophy in England. Mid-day learns that most cricket officials except those from the south zone are on the same page as the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) where sending the team to defend their Champions Trophy crown is concerned.
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Key meeting
This has emerged after the CoA met all state associations of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in New Delhi on Saturday, a day before the Special General Meeting (SGM) to be held in the Capital where India's participation will be finalised.
The CoA met all state associations, as per their zonal representation in two sessions.
"The CoA didn't tell us whether we should agree to send the team or not, but they pointed out the pros and cons of a pull-out. CoA head Vinod Rai in fact said, we can enter into a confrontation (with ICC) anytime, but it is always good to do so when we are in an advantageous position, and we agreed to it," said a head of an association which is in favour of sending the team to England.
The BCCI took a defiant stand of not sending the Indian team for the CT after the their global revenue share was reduced to $293 million from an agreed $570million and the new constitution and finance model was passed with a 9-1 majority vote against India.
Objecting to the BCCI's stand, the CoA, in a letter to all state units last Wednesday said that it will move the Supreme Court if the BCCI general body takes any decision which is against the interest of Indian cricket at its SGM. The letter also directed the BCCI not to pull out of the Champions Trophy without their (CoA) consent.
Change of heart
Another association head revealed that there was a heartening aspect (from their point of view) of Saturday's meeting where the state associations voiced their reservations over implementing many of Justice Lodha recommendations.
"The meeting was very cordial and Rai turned out to be a gem of a person. Apart from the current situation, we also discussed four-five points that many associations are objecting to.
"We expressed the impossibility of implanting the one-state-one-vote clause and the CoA head was very understanding. He promised to present these points in the SC and would try to find a workable solution," the official said.
Has there been some breaking of ice between the cricket officials and CoA? One can say that.
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