NEW DELHI: India has voted against a proposed shake-up of cricket’s global governing body that threatens its influence as one of the game’s “Big Three” powers along with Australia and England.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India rejected a proposal to radically alter the financial and governance structure of the International Cricket Council, a move that would curb its earnings and clout.
A majority of Test playing nations — including Australia and England — agreed to the proposed restructure at the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai.
But India and neighbouring Sri Lanka rejected the idea, and unsuccessfully sought to postpone a decision until the next ICC gathering in April.
Vikram Limaye, India’s representative in Dubai, said the board had insufficient time to “take an informed view” on the proposal.
The ICC announcement comes just days after India’s Supreme Court appointed a new team to oversee the cricket board, after sacking its top officials for failing to implement reforms.
India’s cricket body is the wealthiest in the world, attracting one-fifth of all ICC global revenue.
If adopted, the proposal would reverse a 2014 decision to cede control of the ICC to the “Big Three”, a move which saw Australia, India and England attract the lion’s share of the game’s global revenue.
The ICC, under the guidance of India’s Shashank Manohar, wants to revise the revenue sharing model to ensure equitable distribution and equal weight of votes for all 105 board members, regardless of their membership status.
“Today was an important step forward for the future of the ICC and cricket around the world,” said Manohar Saturday, referring to progress on the proposed reforms.
Cricket’s global governing body said Saturday it had reached “agreement in principle to constitutional and financial change”, adding a detailed proposal will be put to the ICC board in April.
India’s cricket board has been undergoing its own sweeping changes, with a panel headed by former government auditor Vinod Rai the latest development in its shakeup.
The board has been embroiled in a series of scandals, including accusations of corruption in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and a betting scandal involving an IPL team linked to its former head Narayanaswami Srinivasan.
