What’s the story?
South African skipper AB de Villiers has spoken out on the ongoing tussle between the BCCI and ICC which has clouded India’s participation in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
"The ICC would want India to play the Champions Trophy," AB was as quoted by NDTV.
"India won it last time in England and they will be ready for a strong campaign around this year as well," he further added.
Extra Cover: Why India could send a second-string side for the Champions Trophy
The Details
De Villiers who has been a part of the struggling-Royal Challengers Bangalore, a team which has managed to win only 2 matches out of their 10 matches and are all but out of reckoning also believes that the entire team never stood up and accounted for themselves.
However, he still maintained that the team would want to finish on a high in the remaining 4 matches and would look to compete and win few matches.
On being asked about the ongoing conundrum between the BCCI and the ICC, de Villiers was very vocal and maintained that India is a huge commodity at the global tournaments and that they should surely take part. Also, he believed that the ICC would always want the Indian team considering the fanfare the team enjoys all over the globe.
In case you didn’t know...
The BCCI is not too happy with the ICC's new finance model, in which the board will get $293 million across all ICC events. This is significantly less than the amount which BCCI wants; which stands at $570 million in accordance with its revenue percentage under the now discarded Big Three finance model.
Earlier, the BCCI was outvoted 13-1 as the ICC Board approved the aforementioned finance model and the BCCI walked out red-faced from the meeting. Amitabh Choudhary, the BCCI representative at the meet said that it was an "insignificant" amount., considering India’s contribution to the ICC coffers.
What's next?
AB de Villiers has perhaps echoed the sentiments of millions of people all around the world and even the ICC is well aware of the repercussions if India does not turn up for the event.
However, the ball is firmly now in the court of BCCI and a decision could be made on May 7 when the BCCI meets to chalk out the future plan.
Author's Take
Although the Big 3 model was not in the best interest of the growth of cricket, the ICC cannot shunt out the BCCI as the despite being cornered the Indian board can hit back and this rebuttal would not be entirerly fruitful for the parties concerned.
There is nothing black and white in any dispute and both the BCCI and the ICC should look to embark on the grey area and perhaps the solution lies in that particular alley.
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